Itty Bitty
by ThisVioletofMine
Summary: The Scouts have been trained for many things. Combat? Sure. Survival? Yep. Taking care of a baby Titan? Not so much. Deaged!Titan!Eren
1. Chapter 1

Hange had been working on it for a while. In fact, she had been so dedicated to it that almost everyone immediately noticed the lack of her excited squealing. Not that they didn't appreciate the reprieve, but it was also a cause of worry.

Two weeks later, she approached Mikasa, Eren, Armin, Levi and Connie as they trained. Eren was the first to notice her, relaxing from his combat pose to address the squeaking scientist.

"Yes, Section Commander Hange? Do you need more blood samples?" He asked, recognizing the glint in her eyes. She shook her head, wild hair falling in her face as she beamed.

"Nope! You, my precious Titan Lad, have something else I need!" She exclaimed, squirming in elation. Mikasa raised a brow.

"What would that be?" She asked warily. Hange smirked.

"I'm so glad you asked! Eren, I need your _body_." She explained. The way she said 'body' instantly made the group collectively uncomfortable.

Armin gaped.

"Um… what?"

Levi then held up a hand sternly, interrupting their confused mumbling.

"Hang on, let her continue. Her opening statements are always misleading."

The teens obeyed and looked to the scientist expectantly.

"Well, for the past few weeks I've been coming up with a new chemical compound that should- in theory- help us get some answers about the origin of the Titans." She produced a small vial of clear liquid. "When ingested, it should enhance your DNA to the point where it's obtainable." She was referring to the endless blood testing they had attempted a while back, with a fascinated and frustrated Hange unable to detect Titan Eren's DNA in his blood, something that should have been physically impossible. "Now, I need you to shift into Titan form, please." She instructed.

Eren turned his green eyes to Mikasa and Armin, a silent question forming. Did this seem safe? Should he really do it? Mikasa seemed neutral about it, while Armin was nodding slightly.

He turned back to the woman.

"Alright, I guess." He carefully removed his gear and straps to avoid ruining them before requesting everyone take a step back. He set a purpose in mind and then bit down on his hand as hard as he could.

Hange squealed in excitement as ligament and muscle formed around him, bones crunching into place and thick skin wrapping around it all. There was a mild roar as the Titan rose to his feet and stretched his arms as far as they could go, releasing a giant puff of steam from his serrated jaws.

His giant hand reached down and scooped Hange up, bringing her eye-to-eye with his glowing green orbs. She lovingly stroked his brow before jumping in excitement.

"Alright, Eren, now open up!" She ordered pleasantly. Huffing, the Titan lowered her to the level of his mouth, opening it and sticking out his long tongue. She then splashed the small vial's contents onto the muscle, watching with interest as Eren retracted the tongue and swallowed with a shudder and a puff of disgust. "Oh, don't be a big baby about it! It wasn't _that_ bad!" She teased as he placed her gently on the ground.

In reality, it was worse than _that bad_. It tasted like moldy cheese and muddy toenail clippings, mixed with the nauseating iron taste of blood. Eren would have told her this much if his current form was actually able to speak. Instead he expressed his dislike with a cough and a growl, twitching his ears to almost touch his skull.

"Um, Hange?" Levi piped up, face remaining stoic as ever. The woman paused her observing to glance at the corporal. "How is this supposed to work? Titans can't digest anything; he'll just throw it back up."

Hange adjusted her glasses and grinned.

"That's why we have to take the blood sample before he regurgitates most of it. It should absorb into his stomach lining enough to be effective, we just need to act quickly before the stomach lining is regurgitated." She snapped her fingers and her mousy assistant brought forth a large syringe. "Now hold still, Eren." She said.

Eren was too busy curling in on himself to hear her, however. A sharp pain unlike any other was stabbing his abdomen repeatedly, making his teeth clench tightly as he moaned in discomfort.

"Eren?" Mikasa asked, concerned, rushing forward and placing a hand on his toe. He ignored her and released a puff of steam, which descended like a cloud and surrounded the teens. They spluttered in surprise and disgust while Hange rushed forward, writing excitedly in her journal and trying to collect a sample.

It was red, and it smelled like decomposition.

He began breathing heavily, mouth producing more and more of the sickly fog until his eyes began fluttering and he lost his balance.

"Eren! What's wrong?" Hange yelled up to him as he swayed. "Can you list your symptoms? Nausea? Headaches? Diarrhea? Wait, no… disregard! Just calm down, Eren. Breathe deeply and-" She was cut off by a screech of pain so shrill that they all had to cover their ears.

Then they watched in horror as their friend's glowing eyes rolled up into his head and he collapsed onto his back, shaking the very earth.

" _Eren!_ " Armin yelled, grabbing Mikasa and Connie by the arms and running to the Titan's side. Eren remained unresponsive, though his eyelids had stopped fluttering. Armin hurriedly leaped to stand on his friend's massive chest, laying spread-eagle and listening intently for his heartbeat. He sighed in relief when he heard it.

"He's alive!" He informed the others. Levi nodded curtly, approaching Eren's pointed ear.

"Hey, Brat, it's time to stop snoozing, you big idiot!" He snapped angrily. Mikasa held back a glare and focused on peeling back Eren's large black eyelid, finding his pupil constricted to the point of being almost impossible to see. It didn't respond to the changes of lighting, nor did it focus on the teenage girl in front of it.

"Eren, wake up! Are you okay? _Answer me!"_ She yelled.

Finally he opened his other eyelid, both eyes dazedly examining her. He let out the Titan equivalent of a cough, jostling the humans resting on his chest. His eyes began to droop exhaustedly, and no matter how she waved her arms and yelled, he sank deeper and deeper into sleep.

"Hange! Do something!" Levi exclaimed, though the woman seemed to ignore him and continued trying to find a way to obtain a blood sample.

When the teens had begun to grow increasingly desperate, however, the Titan's eyes suddenly shot open in alarm, pupils blowing wide before shrinking to pinpricks again, and he let out an inhuman cry of pain and fear, grabbing up his tiny companions and throwing them away from himself, trusting their reflexes to save them from getting hurt. He was acting on instinct, knowing that they needed to be _away_ from him but too pained and panicked to communicate this to them, to let them get away on their own. He hoped the soldiers wouldn't take this act of protection as an act of aggression and slaughter him.

Seconds after the confused teens had safely landed beside their alert corporal, a burst of light blinded them. It originated from the sky, very similar to the lightning that seemed to accompany his Titan transformations. They couldn't do anything but cover their eyes with their arms and brace themselves against the powerful wind threatening to make them go flying again.

"What's happening?" Connie screamed over the cacophony.

"I don't know, but it's _glorious!_ " Hange screamed back. Levi rolled his eyes, drawing his blades.

"Be prepared for anything." He supplied, leading several of the growing crowd of spectators to arm themselves and wait for the sudden cloud to clear.

All bodies were tense as things suddenly became quiet, an eerie lack of noise that made them instantly wary. Something was wrong, they could all feel it. Why wasn't Eren making any noise? There were no rumbles to say he was okay, and no human Eren stumbling forward with reassurances. Just silence, and a thick cloud of some sort blocking their view of the Titan Shifter.

"Hange, explain!" Erwin snapped, having emerged from the castle the Scouts used as a base. The scientist startled and looked worried.

"I-I have no idea what's happened! I need to get closer and get a better look. However, in this fog- which looks to be thickening- it'll be difficult to find him!" Erwin nodded in acknowledgement.

"Levi, accompany her." He ordered. The corporal grunted in acquiescence and together the pair stumbled deeper into the suffocating fog.

Mikasa and Armin waited anxiously, gripping each other by the sleeves of their jackets.

Two minutes later, a voice broke through the silence.

"We are currently an estimated six meters away from where Eren was last seen. Moblit, write this down!" Hange called, and her assistant rushed to obey. "Alright, we're now approaching the brunt of the fog, which is thick enough that I can hardly locate Levi, who is right beside me."

A grunt of annoyance.

Armin swallowed loudly, sweat beading on his brow. He could tell that something was terribly wrong. What had happened to Eren?

"HOLY SHIT!" Came the exclamation they had all feared.

"What? What's wrong, Hange!" Erwin demanded, beginning to edge closer. When the only answer he received was some shrieking and further exclamations of profanity, they all nodded to each other and rushed forward, blades up and ready.

Armin had difficulty restraining the coughs that wanted to erupt from his lungs. The fog was similar to Titan steam, and just as acrid and invasive. The white cloud was full of humidity, yet a cold chill seemed to sweep them all up and wrap itself around them.

"Sound off!" Erwin shouted, and each Scout let out a noise to indicate that they were still there, unharmed by some malicious fog monster.

"Arlert!" Armin shouted in reply, followed by Mikasa's "Ackerman!"

"Springer!"

"Levi Ackerman!"

"Zoe! Shitshitshitshit-"

"Levi, what's got Hange so frantic?"

A hesitant silence followed, something very un-Levi-like.

"Corporal?"

"Erwin, this is something you'd best see for yourself… " At the deliberately vague and shocked-sounding response, Mikasa jolted forward in a hurry.

Erwin grunted in annoyance, waving an arm ahead of himself but failing in improving his vision.

"Well, Levi, I'd _like_ to see it, but this fog makes it incredibly difficult!"

Armin was pretty sure he could hear the corporal rolling his eyes.

"Just follow the sounds I make." He instructed. The sound of metallic clanging filled the air, originating from somewhere to the left.

The Scouts dutifully followed the ear-splitting noise, and soon Armin stumbled into something promising. A giant hunk of bloody Titan flesh.

Gulping, he grasped Mikasa's sleeve and together they approached the source of the clanging- Levi, bashing his swords against each other like cymbals.

Seeing the first of the group to locate them, Levi gestured behind him and continued the clashing, grumpily muttering about how this was sure to ruin the blades. The two took the hint and went around him, stumbling across Hange Zoe almost immediately, cloaked in fog. She was hunched over something, and her shoulders were shaking in excitement.

"Section Commander…?" Armin asked carefully.

Hange whipped around the face them, cheeks flushed and breathing erratic, with a manic grin upon her face.

"Children! Look at _this_!" She shrieked, waving her arms wildly at the object she had been so engrossed in.

Seeing what it was, both teens instantly felt all hope vanish.

It was a large, transparent sphere about three feet tall and three feet wide. It was a pale pink color, with blue-purple veins scattered throughout. Inside of it was a clear liquid. Floating in said liquid was a small form, about the size of a small human toddler, curled up in the fetal position.

The tiny figure was extremely emaciated, its naked, genital lacking body nothing more than thin flesh stretched over prominent bones. Its pointed ears were held flat against its head, and its lipless maw was half-open in a silent cry. Its black-lidded eyes were firmly closed.

The infant Titan was securely coddled in something inky and blanketlike… Which further examination proved to be very long hair. The formerly shoulder-length locks were now easily longer than the little creature itself, and strategically wrapped around its neck in what seemed to be a form of protection for its only weak spot. The little thing had no umbilical cord to attach it to the inside of its abode, so it simply floated there, limply.

"Is that… _Eren_?" Mikasa breathed, kneeling beside the scientist that was currently taking hasty measurements.

"It is! It seems my serum has somehow reverted his Titan form to its earliest stage of life- the question is, is this an egg, or an artificial womb? Are Titans live birthed, or hatched? Oh, this will answer _so_ many questions!" Hange ran her fingers along the fleshy surface of the sphere, almost lovingly.

"But… Where's Eren?" Armin asked, noting that the tiny Titan was much too small to contain their teenaged friend. Hange sucked in a breath and giggled in reply.

"Maybe he too was de-aged… meaning that there could be a human fetus incubating inside of this little guy's nape! Fascinating! We'll have to do some tests to be sure, but that's the best theory I have so far!"

When the rest of the shocked group arrived, this explanation was repeated.

"Well… what do we do with a baby _Titan_? Do we lock him up, or…?"

" _No_." Hange was suddenly serious, startling them into silence. "He's too small to cause any harm, and he's too vulnerable to survive in the dungeons. I volunteer myself and these two," she gestured to the readily agreeing Mikasa and Armin, "to look after him. We'll do tests, keep him under control, and try to figure out how to get our lovely Titan Lad back to his moody teenaged self."

Erwin, who was staring thoughtfully at the orb, finally nodded.

"Agreed. Section Commander- you, Arlert and Ackerman are hereby put in charge of this creature's care, safety, and supervision. Please return him to normal as soon as you can." He turned to the tensed group behind them. "The rest of you are to stand down. This Titan has proven no threat so far, and any sort of lethal force will be reserved for only the worst of life-or-death situations. Are we clear?" All soldiers agreed. "Good. Dismissed!"

 _Line Break_

After a slightly hesitant Reiner had carried the egg- due to a lack of any natural opening, it was determined to be an egg- into the castle, setting it upon Hange's own bed before leaving, the trio assigned to little Eren's care immediately got to work.

"We need a plan." Mikasa stated needlessly. Her grey eyes were cloudy with a hidden emotion even her childhood friend didn't recognize.

Armin nodded. "Yes we do. First off- do we take Eren out of there, or wait and see if he exits naturally?"

Hange sprung up, eagerly sharing her thoughts. "I vote that we wait for one week, and if nothing happens, induce the hatching process. I would _love_ to see how Titans are born! Do they have milk teeth to break through the shell that fall off afterwards, like a turtle? Do they crawl out or slide out? Do they cry? Which senses are already developed? Which ones aren't? Will he recognize us upon waking up? Will he search for his mother? Oh! Will he need some sort of material nourishment? Or just sunlight? I'm so excited!"

It was agreed upon that if he hadn't hatched by the following Monday, they would carefully cut the egg open and extract him.

"We'll watch over him in shifts- I'll stay here during the day, when you guys have training; Armin, you'll take the evening-to-midnight shift, while Mikasa has midnight-to-morning. I'll have you officially excused from your early morning training so that you aren't completely worn out, okay?"

The teens exchanged nods of approval.

 _Line Break_

"I wonder if you're hungry in there, Eren…" Mikasa murmured, softly stroking the fleshy substance separating her from her brother. As per usual, the infant inside didn't so much as stir to acknowledge her loving touch or whispered words. She sighed, readjusting to sit more comfortably in the wooden washtub.

To avoid the egg rolling around, they had taken an old washtub, filled it with pillows and blankets, and had set the orb snugly inside, placed by the window to absorb the brunt of the morning's sunlight. There was a small space left over next to the egg, where its guardians often sat.

It had now been four days since the initial transformation that had stripped Eren's age away. So far, the little Titan hadn't even _moved_. This concerned the Scouts, because normally there should be more fetal movement to signify the development of muscles and increase in time spent conscious. Then again, the Titan _wasn't_ conscious.

Frowning, Mikasa began to gaze wistfully out the window, where the horizon held the promise of a truly beautiful upcoming sunrise.

She was feeling so many things at once, and her mental health seemed to be suffering for it. Anger. Sadness. Fear. Concern. Longing.

She missed Eren. He was her closest friend, aside from Armin. He had rescued her countless times from the clutches of the darkness, and when she was ready to just dive right into it in desperation, his determined face always managed to pull her into the loving embrace of the light. He was her family. Her partner-in-crime. Her support. Her home. Her _everything._

Going even days without him was unbearably hard. Even having the scarf that smelled so wonderfully of _Eren_ just wasn't enough. She longed to pull him into her arms, to feel his skinny, strong body against hers. She wished she could kiss his forehead, like she always did before he fell asleep each night; a nervous habit she had picked up when she was much littler, clinging desperately to his side, relying on her lips to reassure her that he was still there, beside her, that he hadn't disappeared _today_ , so surely tomorrow he'll still be her strong uplifting force, surely the one she had sworn to protect and _keep_ would stay another day, and another, and another, because if he left her like her parents had, she wouldn't be able to take it.

Her fingers ached to run themselves through his soft hair, to ruffle it and hear the indignant squawk that was just so _Eren_ that it was an amazing comfort in the darkest of times. Her arms felt so empty without him to occupy them, even if his hugs only lasted for about ten seconds anyway. Her ears hurt with the desire to hear his sweet, sweet voice- _Come on, let's go home_ \- and her mouth felt dry and tasted of ashes without something to say to her brother.

"Eren… I… I _miss_ you… And Hange is saying that it's possible you'll be stuck this way… Please… _Please_ don't let that be so." It sounded like begging, even to her own ears. She kept her voice at a whisper to avoid waking Armin, who was napping on a spare cot nearby, and Hange, passed out on the bed. "Listen, Eren. I've seen you take on full-blown Titans without breaking stride. I've seen you defeat two human trafficking scumbags singlehandedly, using only a tiny knife. I've seen how strong you can be. You're _tough_ , and you wouldn't just let something like this take you down! You might not be invincible, but damn it, you're as close as it gets!" By now several tears were escaping her eyes as she stared intently at the small orb of life containing all that was left of her most treasured friend. "Please don't leave me on my own! Don't let this Titan take you over! You have to fight! To live, you have to fight! _Be_ the amazing, determined, strong boy I know you are. Come back to me, and be alright."

Sighing dejectedly and ending her whispered plea- or maybe one could call it a prayer of sorts- Mikasa began to rise, wiping the tears from her face. She needed to take a breather and stick her head out the window. Hopefully the chilly early morning air would calm her raging nerves and clear the emotional fog that was so dulling her senses.

As she twisted to lift her other leg out of the tub, however, her gaze fell once again upon the tiny shape of Eren's Titan form. And she froze.

A bony little arm was outstretched, reaching deliberately in her direction, and those beautiful green eyes that were unmistakably Eren's were now finally opened, looking up at her longingly through a milky protective membrane covering his eyeballs. His other hand was clutching loosely at the hair he wore like a scarf. Those little brows were furrowed, and his eternal lipless sneer was somehow conveying the very essence of a tearful frown. He looked scared, and desperate, and so very confused. And he looked like he wanted nothing but her.

She gasped, finding oxygen scarce, and her eyes doubled in size. She had to tell the others!

But as she turned once again to rush over to the room's sleeping occupants, she heard a noise she wouldn't soon forget.

From behind her there came a watery, choking wail, muffled by the liquid Eren was trapped in and the thick layer of the egg's fleshy shell. It was high-pitched and infantile, sounding exactly like a tiny, helpless creature of some sort that was desperately trying to communicate. And it sounded dangerously close to a strangled sob.

She couldn't take it. Hearing Eren- _but it's not Eren it's not is it? Is it?-_ in any kind of distress was torture, absolute agony. Without hesitation, she jumped back into the uncomfortable tub and hunched as close to the egg as she could, placing her hand on the warm surface of the sphere.

Baby Eren trilled in joy at this and inched himself closer to the inner wall of the egg, reaching out an uncoordinated hand to nudge where her hand lay. His tiny little fist was barely half the size of hers.

Mikasa's heart nearly split in two when this wasn't enough for the young beast, who wailed again, sending bubbles to the small pocket of air above his head. She could see it in his eyes- he wanted to be closer to her, to actually touch her without a barrier of flesh and amniotic fluid standing between them. He longed for her familiar comfort just as much as she craved his.

And that made tears return to her eyes again.

"Eren, I'm sorry! I can't do anything more! If you want me, _you_ have to get yourself out of there!" She exclaimed quietly, minding her sleeping roommates, selfishly wanting to have this moment solely between herself and the boy she had adopted as her brother.

He blinked, humming inquisitively, clacking his teeth together in thought. He seemed to understand what she was implying, and brought back his itty-bitty fist to crash very gently into the wall of the egg that encased him. Nothing happened. At first he looked disheartened, but then that familiar Jaeger fire flashed in his eyes, and he pulled his fist back again. With Mikasa watching in awe, he gathered his strength and slammed into the wall as hard as his newborn muscles would allow.

There was a distinctive popping sound as his fist broke straight through, and he quickly retracted it when he was met with cold morning air.

The amniotic fluid seeped out, thankfully absorbing quickly into the blockade of towels surrounding it.

First came his head, made heavier by the weight of the long, sopping wet mane of hair attached to it. When one of his shoulders got stuck, Mikasa reached out and began to gently coax his body onto a waiting blanket. Finally he was released, and after the hair was untied from its choking wrap around his neck, he announced his birth with a spluttering cough, followed by a purr of sorts.

His malnourished and stunted body was lying limply on the blanket before her, shivering and weakly trying to move. His eyes were closed in exhaustion.

"Eren…" she whisper-cooed, softly running a hand up and down his back until he acknowledged her with a coo of his own.

She couldn't help it; she smiled.

He was quite cute, this miniature Titan.

When another shiver wracked his frame, she gathered him up in his blanket and leaned back to recline against the side of the tub, laying him on her chest. He squeaked happily and curled into her warmth, little ears wiggling in a way that could never _not_ be totally endearing.

And while she lay there, a tiny Titan laying snugly and sleepily on her chest, her fingers gently weaving through the silky hair decorating his newborn head, listening to his slow, even breathing, Mikasa found herself relaxing. For the first time in a while, she knew everything would be okay. She might not have had any solid proof of this, but deep down, she just knew it.

She fell asleep with a smile, and with a newborn Titan clutched securely to her, looking for all the world like a mother and her beloved son.

 **Sorry to those of you who ship EreMika (I do too, actually), but this story is going to be a familial sort of relationship, and there are also no pairings.**

 **Also, almost all scientific-ness is total fiction. I'm no scientist.**

 **Without an umbilical cord, how could he breathe? Titans apparently don't _need_ to breathe, according to Wikipedia. So there.**

 **Anyone else think a baby Titan as described above would be the cutest thing ever?**

 _ **Also, I know a baby Titan would be, like, 50 feet tall at least, but in this, they start out extremely tiny and then shoot up in a few big growth spurts later on. After all, if he's too big, he can't do all the cute normal baby things I have planned, like bathing- in a bathtub!**_

 **Whoops. Spoilers.**

 **Whatevs.**

 **So, how did you like it? I felt the need to write something new, so while I probably _should_ be a responsible Fanfictioner and update my other two stories, INSTEAD I'm giving ya'll this for now until my Merlin/YJ muse decides to return from vacay. **

**To my _Never Quite Lost_ readers- I am in the process of writing out my plans for future chapters. Coming up is a 4-to-5-part story arc (is that what those are called?) and so something this big needs extra special care and planning ahead. Also, that story is coming closer to its end, I'm sad to say, so I want to make sure I tie everything up nicely to make it an all-around awesome experience for you. For now, I'll just say it won't be any longer than 40 chapters, and most likely won't make it all the way to 40 (we're currently on chapter 29). I don't want to drag it on for so long that you all get sick of it. **

**For those of you reading _Lullabies and Broken Wings_ \- this one is giving me some trouble, because I'm caught on this one plot point that's vitally important, but is giving me lots of trouble and doubts. Please excuse the long periods between updates, and please be patient while I make some very big and difficult decisions on just where this story is going and how it'll get there. You all are the best!  
**

 **Sorry if the Eren/Titan identity is unclear (like, if he's Eren or just a baby Titan) but it will be explained in future chapters. This well has lots to offer before it goes dry!**

 **Should I continue? I'm thinking this one will be ten chapters at most… A shorter multichapter one. There will be Levi, Hange, Armin and such in later chapters, but I felt Mikasa would be the one most heavily affected.**

 **Please drop a review!**

 **Also, if anyone is interested in drawing the cover art for this, feel free to PM me to discuss! The person who draws (or whatever method you use) it can decide exactly what happens for one whole chapter of this story (as long as it's pairing-free!)! So what're you waiting for? Don't be shy, my lovely artist readers!**

 **Anywho, gotta go study… like I should have been doing over four hours ago…. :/ Man, life can suck sometimes… especially for a student. Oh well.**

 **Goodnight, lovelies!**

 **-ThisVioletofMine**


	2. Chapter 2

When Mikasa finally returned to consciousness, the first thing she noticed was the pain throbbing in her neck. She was lying on her side, curled up in the wooden washtub. In her arms she cradled a two-foot-tall Titan, who was all but dead to the world. His little fingers were gently grasping her beloved red scarf.

"Eren…" She whispered into his tiny pointed ear. The appendage twitched slightly, but he didn't so much as grunt in response. Normally Eren's Titan had very keen senses and an almost supernatural awareness of his surroundings; however, now he was a day-old hatchling with (most likely) dulled senses and a thick fog of exhaustion around his brain- being born the way he had been would surely take a lot out of an infant of any species.

A small smile tugged her lips before she slowly began to straighten up, carefully readjusting her cargo until he was lying on his back before extracting herself from his grip. As a second thought, she took a spare blanket and placed it on top of his emaciated little body.

Morning sunlight poured through the single window, indicating the pair had slept no more than six hours. Hange and Armin were still sound asleep.

Catlike as ever, Mikasa slunk over to Armin's side and elbowed him gently, covering his mouth to stifle the exclamation of surprise as he shot up. His eyes were wide and searching, asking her a question with burning fear in those baby blue depths. She shook her head lightly, keeping her expression calm and collected, and pulled him to his feet, silently escorting him to the washtub. Eyes widening further, he yanked her hand from his mouth and whispered, " _Is he hatching?"_ Hange stirred on her bed before scratching her oily head and falling deeper into sleep.

Mikasa shook her head, gesturing to the deflated and halfway-disintegrated sac that was empty of its burden. Then, with a feather-light touch, she carefully lifted the corner of the ratty blanket, letting him get a good look before replacing it to keep the morning chill from reaching the sleeping Titan. Armin was staring, awestruck, at the lump of blankets and the grotesque face barely peeking out of it. Eren's Rapunzel's locks were fanned out behind him, a few strands hanging over his face and one getting caught in the gum-like flesh above one of his exposed teeth. He was breathing slowly, and every few minutes he would release a sigh of contentment. At one point they thought they had seen a shiver, but it could easily have been the involuntary twitches that Eren sometimes had when he was dreaming.

"Eren…" Armin gasped, "H-how long ago-?"

"About five or six hours. He's been sleeping ever since." Mikasa answered the stuttered question, watching as the blonde eagerly studied Eren's relaxed countenance.

"AND YOU DIDN'T SEE IT FIT TO WAKE ME?" Came a sudden shriek from behind them, making both teens jump and instantly whip around to glare at the scientist. Hange ignored them, bringing her unruly hair up into a ponytail before shoving past them and kneeling by the wooden tub.

The little Titan was awake now, grunting and staring up at Hange with wide, petrified eyes. Her screaming had obviously scared him half to death, and had probably hurt his sensitive ears, as well.

She leaned down and smiled disarmingly at him, which just served to make him start shivering in fear. A little whimper escaped him, and he weakly tried to scoot away from the shouting woman.

Frowning, Hange dialed it back a little. "Hey there, little guy." She crooned, slowly reaching her hand towards him. "Sorry I scared ya. Are you feeling okay? Can you understand me?" Her normally hyperactive behavior was suddenly nowhere to be seen, and instead the shocked teens noticed that she seemed almost motherly.

The change in demeanor seemed to confuse little Eren as well, because he had cocked his head comically, his bony hands pressing against the bottom of the tub and his thin arms struggling with the effort to sit him up. Clearly thrilled that one so young was attempting such an advanced movement, Hange gently placed a hand between his shoulder blades and began to assist him when it became clear that his twiggy little arms just could _not_ support his weight, small as he might have been.

But as soon as her soft hands made contact with his rough skin, his ears twitched slightly backwards and his pupils constricted to feline slits. A pathetic growl emanated from his open jaws, and he glared at her in warning.

The woman seemed to take this reaction in stride, however, and simply smiled as she carefully removed the offending appendage. She had a calculating look in her eyes.

"I'm sorry, buddy. You don't like me that close to your nape, huh?" At her placating words and the removal of her hand, he finally relaxed and returned to pushing himself into an upright position, one emerald eye watching her warily the entire time.

To Mikasa and Armin, Hange muttered, "So far I'm only seeing Titan characteristics… Eren would know I mean him no harm…. That protectiveness of his nape seems purely instinctual." Mikasa frowned, her gut twisting anxiously.

Donning a gentle smile, the scientist turned back to the subject of her studies and slowly placed her searching fingers on his lower back, gently pushing until he was sitting up. His eyes widened considerably at the unwanted contact, but, as her hand was much farther from his weak spot, he allowed the much-needed assistance.

Armin smiled sadly when the little Titan almost toppled over onto his face, caught at the last second by an expectant Hange.

"Whoop! Looks like the muscles for balance haven't fully developed yet!" Giggling ecstatically, she helped him sit against the side of the tub and kept her hands ready in case he fell over again.

Rattled by the whole thing, little Eren used shaking arms to slowly wrap his hair about his tiny neck.

"Hange… How old would you say he is right now? Like, in comparison with a human?" Armin asked, kneeling beside her. Mikasa circled around to squat behind the weak creature.

Hange ran a hand through her hair, adjusting her glasses. She watched with intense interest as the dark-haired girl lowered an arm to rest on the baby's head, and as the little Titan confusedly tipped his head back to stare up at her. When he saw who it was, he trilled happily and extended his arms towards her. After only three seconds, though, the underdeveloped muscles had had enough and the limbs fell back to his sides.

Seemingly forgetting Armin's question, Hange stood up. "Hey, Mikasa. Pick him up, would you?" She requested, turning to her desk and rummaging through the disorganized drawers. The girl nodded in acquiescence and gestured for her friend to help her.

Armin slipped his arms under the Titan's armpits and turned him around to face Mikasa, then held him upright until she had her hands securely around either sides of his ribcage.

When she pulled him to herself, he seemed to melt happily, an assortment of chattering squeaks and chirps escaping him. His ears wiggled hyperactively.

"My, my! You sure are talkative!" Armin chuckled, running a hand fondly down the creature's naked back. The gesture was ignored as Eren focused solely on snuggling closer to Mikasa.

"He's… cold..." The girl muttered, a look of concern on her face. She took a clean blanket from the cot, still warm from Armin's body heat, and wrapped it around Eren, the Titanlet purring in approval.

"Is he really?" Hange inquired, slowly approaching despite her obvious eagerness to rush. Eren continued to eye her suspiciously.

Mikasa nodded, feeling his forehead with the back of her free hand. It was oddly frigid to the touch, considering Titans were naturally full of absorbed thermal energy.

"Yeah, it's colder than _my_ temperature, even." She informed. The scientist paused.

"Well, what's your average body temp? Humans measure the temperatures of things by comparison- if your body temperature is naturally higher, his being even slightly colder would feel more exaggerated to you when your warmer skin touches his."

"No… I'm usually around ninety-seven degrees, and I'd say he's at about eighty or under. Like, _really_ cold." The worry on Hange's face didn't help dispel Mikasa's anxiety.

"Lemme get my thermometer." The woman said distantly, searching through her desk drawer again. She returned with small glass tube and instructed Mikasa to stick it under his armpit. "It would be better to get a reading from his rectum considering his age, but since he kind of _lacks…_ well, we'll just have to make do."

The teen eyed the instrument for a moment, then returned her gaze to Eren. He was comfortably bundled in her arms, looking up at her affectionately. His big green eyes were full of emotion.

He shivered.

Worry once again roiling in her gut, Mikasa seated herself on Hange's bed and pillowed him between her legs. She took one skinny wrist in hand and raised his limp arm, sticking the cold glass in his armpit and the pinning the appendage down.

He squawked at the shock of the sudden coldness in one of his warmest spots and thrashed his remaining limbs weakly, looking completely and utterly betrayed.

"Oh, poor little guy…" Hange crooned, rubbing her hands together and trying to warm him a little with her body heat.

He continued flailing desperately, choked sounds emanating from his throat as he clacked his teeth.

Then he stopped short. His eyes rolled up in his head and he fell limp, breathing suddenly extremely shallow. All color left his skin, the black rings around his eyes fading to a dull grey.

"Eren? _Eren!_ " Mikasa cried, releasing his arm and wrapping her long fingers around his shivering shoulders. He didn't respond.

"Give him here!" Hange commanded, swooping in and retrieving their unconscious charge before Mikasa could object. She held him like a natural, making the teens once again wonder where these motherly characteristics had been hiding all this time. "Hmm… he's very light, too… Of course, his mass was bound to change considering he shed almost eighty percent of his adult body during that last transformation… I'll weigh him later, though."

She laid her palm on his forehead. "Oh, my! This is very cold- even for a human! You were right, Mikasa."

"Section Commander!" Armin cried in exasperation. "Please, what's wrong with him? Why did he just pass out like that?"

"'Why' indeed…" Hange muttered, grabbing up a penlight and deftly wielding it. Impressively, she managed to singlehandedly hold open one of his eyelids, accurately aim the penlight, and hold down the button to keep the device on. "His pupils are… wow, _very_ responsive to light, so that's good… And his breathing, while weak, is starting to stabilize. Although, due to a lack of umbilical cord while he was actively submerged, I would say Titans don't necessarily _need_ to breathe. Or, at the very least, they can hold their breaths for a _very_ long time." Mikasa held her penlight for her while she continued her examination. "Pulse is… _not_ as strong as I'd like, but still steady and within the parameters of being considered 'healthy'." She pinched the skin on the back of one of his hands, then released and watched carefully. "He seems to be adequately hydrated, so it's probably not dehydration, and Titans can't eat, so it's probably not malnourishment, either."

The little Titan chose this moment to flutter his eyelids before opening them slowly and staring up at the woman dazedly. He gurgled weakly, whimpered, and raised the shakiest arm they had ever seen. Then he went completely limp again.

"Poor little man…" Hange muttered. Then she slapped her forehead. "Oh my gosh! It _is_ malnourishment! Come on!" And with that, she was sprinting out the door.

 _Line Break_

"Section Commander! _Section Commander Hange_!" Levi looked up from his blades- goddammit, after three hours he _still_ couldn't get them sharp enough- at the sound of desperate children calling out to their superior. His eyes rolled almost of their own accord. What had the nutcase done this time?

Squinting, he waited for his eyes to adjust to the unbearably bright sunlight. After a few moments, he could make out two teenaged forms running wildly across the far side of the property, in the direction of the gardens. A few yards ahead of them was a taller form, sprinting like a total maniac and clutching something.

 _Dammit, Hange, what are you using to play keepaway with_ this _time?_ Curiosity piqued, he made his way leisurely to the gardens, frowning as the tree coverage started to dwindle, leaving him increasingly exposed to the annoyingly cheery sunlight.

When he finally reached his destination, he found three heavily panting Scouts plopped between a patch of carrots and a giant pot bearing a large tomato plant. He instantly recognized the head of blonde hair as the shy boy that followed Jaeger around, and by his side was the unmistakable red-scarf girl, the one who coincidentally shared his own last name. The mad scientist was in front of them, on her knees and leaning over something.

Was that a… baby?

He could see a small arm if he leaned past Hange, and a swath of black- well, it _looked_ like hair, but being so long that there seemed to be no head attached to it, it could have been some sort of cloth for all he knew. Was there a baby girl (because really, who would allow a baby _boy_ to have such long hair?) on the premises? Had someone screwed around again, despite several regulations against such behavior between fellow soldiers?

"-Hange, what the hell was _that_ about?" Arlert was gasping between pants. Levi made a mental note to increase stamina training in the future. "You could have explained before fleeing, you know!"

Beside him, Ackerman was nodding in agreement.

"Sorry, kids; I got a little overexcited, I guess."

"You _guess_?" Levi interjected, trying to withhold his smirk at their total surprise. "Hange, please explain why you were running like a freaking extraterrestrial across the grounds." His voice left no room for argument, though the momentary thoughtful expression on her face made it clear she had tried to find some leeway. Finding none, she proceeded to motion the corporal closer. Sighing in irritation, he complied.

"Well, Levi, it's quite a long, _fascinating_ story, so I think it's best if I show you my reasoning before we get into the details." When he reached her side, her hand unexpectedly shot up and grasped his wrist, and while he was caught in that moment of realization, she yanked on his arm until he joined her on his knees.

The glare he aimed her way was absolutely _murderous_.

"Damn you, Hange! Do you know how hard it is to get grass stains out of _white_ pants?" He was about to shout some more when a strange, inhuman noise reached his ears, making him freeze. It had sounded like a baby's cry, except it was multi-toned and animalistic.

Feeling ignorant, he turned to look at the thing that had brought him into this situation in the first place.

"Hange, is that…? Holy hell, that's a freaky little bastard." After getting over the initial shock of seeing a Titan that was smaller than himself- Levi, the shortest male of his age in the Scout Regiment- he quickly resumed his default attitude for which he was infamous.

Behind him, Mikasa was glaring up a storm, trying not to tackle her superior. How _dare_ he say something so cruel?

Thankfully, Hange was likeminded. "Levi, that's _Eren_! Be nice, he's just a baby!" Levi's eyebrow ascended.

"So the little lizard finally hatched, eh? Is it as stupid as the rest?" Instead of hearing the insult, Hange focused on the question and happily laughed. Oh, how she _loved_ people asking her questions!

"That's a good question, Levi! So far he hasn't shown any signs of being a cognizant human under that _adorable_ exterior, but he _has_ shown multiple times that he's very intelligent! He can recognize faces and has an opinion of each of us, he's shown that he can distinguish human emotions and facial expressions, and he is very aware of his weak spot, as you can see in this armoring behavior." She gestured to the sleeping Titan, whose neck was still sporting a scarf of long hair. So long, in fact, that even after being wrapped twice around his throat, there was still enough excess to reach down to his knobby ankles.

"Alright. Have you gathered any useful information?" Hange pouted.

"That _is_ useful information! Besides, you should cut us some slack- he just hatched last night, and this morning he had some sort of fit that's left it difficult to find time to study him more intensely."

"Fit? What, did little Rapunzel have a tantrum?"

"No, not like that! A fit, as in: a sudden onset of medical problems. He freaked out when Mikasa took his temperature, then he basically passed out. He's incredibly weak, guys." She said seriously, trying to stress just how bad things had gotten. Then she perked up. "Thankfully, I've determined the cause of his earlier faint- he's been deprived of sunlight! Think about it: Titans rely on solar energy to keep them going. We assumed they store this energy to convert into kinetic energy; but what if they don't store it, just run off of it? I don't know why I didn't think of this earlier!"

Mikasa moved to sit on Eren's other side, stroking his tiny hand stoically.

"After all, they all but collapse after sunset! Maybe they're incapable of storing energy- maybe they can only store a tiny amount; the thing is, we wouldn't be able to tell with regular Titans. We encounter them outdoors, where there's nothing to keep them from absorbing UV rays- they're taller than the trees! But Eren has been kept inside, something they're not designed for! He may get some light from the window, sure, but that's a small, concentrated source! When we took him deeper into the room, he became lethargic, because he was almost completely cut off from the sun's natural light! And after such a huge strain on his energy (when he started thrashing around), it's no wonder that he used all of his short supply up!"

"So… he's gonna be okay?" Armin asked, looking pathetically hopeful. Hange nodded, carefully lifting the little Titan into her arms. She held him close to her chest and studied him closely.

"He is so… _awesome_!" She exclaimed, though without her usual irritating hyperactivity. "I mean, just _look_ at that hair! There's _gotta_ be a reason for it being so long during infancy!" Levi was reluctantly still beside her, though occasionally he stole a curious glance at the anomaly in the woman's arms.

"Maybe it's his personal preference; it's not that big of a deal, Titan Freak." He taunted without (too much) malice.

"Umm, yes, it _is_ a big deal! It could be that their hair doesn't grow- maybe in terms of proportion, his hair is actually the same length! Shoulder-length on a fifteen-meter is probably extremely long if translated onto a less-than-one-meter. Maybe they're born with all the hair they'll ever have right there on their heads!" Eren chattered his teeth fitfully before whimpering and curling to better fit against Hange's chest. The look on her face was priceless.

"Or… Or maybe it's meant for being a form of protection! I had thought it was just a weird trait of his, but maybe the helpless newborns are given the extra hair to use as a shield! If that's the case, does that mean their hair is stronger than a human's? Ooh, so many questions!"

"And only a little shit to answer them." Levi grumped, rising to his feet. "Oh, Hange? You'd better take good care of that thing. If you accidentally kill it, the paperwork would be a pain in the ass that I honestly can't deal with right now. Understood?"

She distractedly saluted, not bothering to point out that they were of equal ranking, meaning he really didn't have to get so authoritative with her. She could see right through his act and knew he was concerned for the young boy's health and safety.

"Will do, _Capitan_!" With another scowl, he stalked off.

"Section Commander?"

"Hmm?"

"How's Eren doing? He's been in the sunlight for a while now… Why isn't he waking up?" The three gazed worriedly upon the fourth, who had a little hand wrapped around Hange's jacket collar.

"I'm not sure. I think he's just getting a nap in to regain his strength, honestly. If he's not awake by noon, then I'll worry. For now, let's let him sleep." So they settled in the grass on either side of the woman and watched the morning lazily drift by. Well, and stared at the Titanlet, of course.

It was a quarter-till when Hange broke the companionable silence.

"Guysguysguysguysguys-" She whisper-shouted, waving a hand to get their attention. "Check this out!" They both craned their necks to peer at the infant, who was still asleep.

His nonexistent eyebrows were furrowed slightly, and his eyes were moving rapidly in REM sleep. The black rings around his eyes were back to their rich midnight color, and his skin was its normal tan once more. All in all, he looked much healthier than he had just an hour before.

His impossibly tiny fist was resting firmly between his jaws, somehow fitting very well in his cavernous mouth. His long tongue was curling and wrapping itself around the appendage, and his teeth rested gently on the flesh of his forearm.

He appeared to be attempting the age-old practice of thumb-sucking.

"That," Hange said excitedly, "is the behavior of a _human_ child."

 **Yeah, thumbsucking might not be exclusive to humans, for all I know, but I get the feeling that Titans generally wouldn't do it that much- especially not lipless ones, since they know better than to try (since lacking lips makes suction virtually impossible in the first place).**

 **Also, all scientific theories and whatnot are most likely not accurate or correct or whatever. Just ignore how credible my facts are and focus on loving my story, gosh!**

 **So, yeah, there's my contribution this week. Two updates in one week- this is very rare for me!**

 **I'd like to say a special thank you to** _ **sour popsicles 15**_ **(sorry about spacing errors, but if I don't add spaces, the name won't show up when this is posted) and** _ **Red Coaster**_ **for reviewing last chapter! Your encouragement means the world to me!**

 **Also, lots of inspiration for this story came from** _ **Red Coaster's**_ **AMAZING story,** _ **Rogue**_ **. It's an AU where Eren is only a Titan, and yeah, it's great, I won't try to summarize it for you because that wouldn't do it any justice, just trust me on this- GREAT story, I highly recommend! Several of little!Eren's characteristics are inspired by** _ **Rogue**_ **.**

 **That's all I have to say for now. I burned out my brain writing this at 10:00 at night after a long week of schoolwork and with an early wakeup awaiting me tomorrow. I need sleep, and my vision is literally starting to blur. Sorry if the chapter has suffered any due to this, I will read through it tomorrow and fix any blaring mistakes… I think… Can't think… What even is life?**

 **I get super philosophical and nonsensical after 8:00.**

 **Goodnight, lovely readers!**

 ***passes out on keyboard***


	3. Chapter 3

By the time Armin and Mikasa had returned from training, tired and sweaty, the sunlight was fading beyond the horizon, filtering purplish rays through the open window of Hange's room. The atmosphere was calmer than it had been that morning, and a comfortable chill had settled in the air, gently cooling their overheated bodies.

"Section Commander?" Armin called when the room was eerily silent upon their entry.

"Back here!" Hange replied, voice coming from an attached lab on the far side of the room. Usually the door remained closed, but now it was open for them to peer into.

The laboratory was small, half the size of her bedroom, with a single window completely covered by a black tarp. Oil lanterns provided a comforting, soothing light. In the middle of the room was a large wooden table, scratched and stained from years of various experimenting. Three of the walls were lined with shelves upon shelves of chemicals, beakers, books, notebooks, and a plethora of unfamiliar equipment.

"How's Eren, Section Commander?" Mikasa asked as soon as they were through the door. The woman was standing by the huge table, hunched over a tiny form lying on its surface. She offered a kind smile.

"Please, just call me Hange. It's much shorter." She insisted, turning her attentions back to the baby Titan when he gurgled noisily. "And he's doing just fine! Yes he is! Yes he is!" She crooned, switching from scientist to doting grandmother in less than two seconds.

"He's awake again?" Armin inquired, watching with great interest. The Titan was staring straight up at Hange, green eyes wide with childish fascination and bony fingers grasping for her hand. She wiggled her fingers in his face and then pulled them just out of his reach, chuckling when he made a frustrated growl and fruitlessly tried to conquer his own clunky coordination (or lack thereof.)

"Yep! Been awake for a few hours, actually. That basking session seemed to really do him some good! Just look at him! Handsome little man! Who's a cutie? _You_ are!" Eren squealed and kicked his legs happily.

Mikasa smiled despite herself and stepped closer, craning her neck to bring her face into his line of sight. Upon seeing his favorite human, a long, loud cry of joy burst from his lipless mouth. His little hands started groping the air just beneath her hanging black hair.

"Hey, Eren! You feeling any better?" She asked, rubbing his belly through the thick blue blanket he was half-swaddled in. He inhaled loudly as a response. "Why are you guys in here?" She turned to Hange, who was sifting through a stack of leather-bound books.

"Oh, I decided to start testing on him. That," She gestured to the black tarp covering the window, "is to determine how long he can function without actively absorbing solar energy. So far he's powered through five minutes of deprivation, and has yet to show signs of fatigue." She finally found the notebook she was searching for and flipped to a fresh page, quickly jotting down her observations.

"Ah." Mikasa nodded in understanding, returning her gaze to the little Titan.

He was sitting up.

"Um… Armin, did you do that?" She asked warily. The blonde turned to face her.

"Do wha- woah! Sectio- _Hange_! He sat up!" He exclaimed excitedly. The woman whipped around to stare in awe at the Titanlet, who was upright, unsupported, and holding his head up as well. He was rotating his head as far in each direction as it could go, examining his surroundings with ears erect.

"What? How is that-? His muscles shouldn't be developed enough for that yet! He could barely lift his head this morning!" She deposited the notebook on the edge of the table, kneeling down slightly to meet the roaming green eyes. "Did you do that all by yourself?" She asked rhetorically. He didn't offer a reply other than a small huff that couldn't be described as belonging to any specific emotion.

The messy-haired woman ran a gentle finger down his back; as he was slightly hunched over, the spinal column was clearly visible and slightly distended from the rest of his back, and her finger made a quiet vibrating noise as it caught on each vertebra on its way down. He didn't seem to mind the touch that much, instead swiveling his head to gaze adoringly up at his two friends. He reached his little arms towards them, silently asking to be held.

"Can I…?" Mikasa asked Hange as she continued lightly examining his thoracic. She received an affirmative and carefully pulled the little creature into her arms. His long hair trailed behind him, no longer wrapped about his small throat, and the ends just barely touched the floor. "We'll need to do something about this, Rapunzel…" She murmured.

"Ooh! Speaking of which, I need to get some measurements!" Hange exclaimed, producing a tape measure and a scale. She started by placing one end of the tape against the base of his skull, had Mikasa hold it in place and then knelt down. "Fascinating," She muttered, standing again and taking more measurements.

Ten minutes later, Eren was asleep ("alright, that was 16.34 minutes of proper function without sunlight.") in Mikasa's arms with Hange taking the opportunity to measure his neck. He had nearly snapped at her when her tape measure was pressed against his neck to measure his hair, and they knew he would absolutely freak out if she wrapped something that wasn't his hair around his neck, his one weak spot.

"Alright, gimme a second to get the scale ready." Hange said, picking the device up and hanging it from a hook on the ceiling. She carefully took the baby from Mikasa and laid him inside the basket, writing his weight down before giving him to Armin. The boy awkwardly held the little Titan, having to be corrected several times before he could hold him the right way.

"Find anything interesting?" Mikasa asked the scientist as she went through her scribbled notes.

"Ah, yes! Eren is currently 2 feet 2 inches tall, and weighs a whopping 25 pounds. His hair, meanwhile, is just over 5 feet long. He's approximately the size of a human toddler, although his ribcage is a bit thinner and his neck is a wee bit thicker."

"So, how old would you say he is right now?" Hange paused, eyes glinting.

"That, my friend, is a fine question! We all know that Titans are much larger than people, and I'd bet you that includes during infancy as well! So while he's the size of a human toddler, he is most likely much younger than one. Judging by his muscle development and by the fact that he has yet to have any drastic growth, I'd say he's in the latter part of a year old in human terms. They probably don't age the same way we do, though, so he could be a fully-grown adult by next week for all we know!" She looked contemplative for a moment before correcting herself. "Then again, he's too small to have a human baby in his nape, and since we know Eren is most likely in there- where else could he be?- and could only fit if he was a small fetus, he might actually be the equivalent of a human fetus! Maybe Titans spend most of their earliest development _outside_ of the womb! That would allow them to adapt quicker, plus, if Titan mommies are around to raise and protect them, they could learn to be independent much earlier in life! After all, they have fewer organs to develop, they _probably_ don't need food or water… They're probably ready to be born after only a few weeks of incubation! The rest of their physical development could take place as they're up and about, learning and adapting." The teens nodded. It made some sense. "Well, now that that's taken care of, let's move on." She took Eren back into her arms, bouncing him lightly as she used her free hand to rip the black tarp down.

Dying sunlight poured in, bathing the Titan in its warmth. His eyes shot open moments later, a pleased tittering escaping him as he snuggled into its comforting touch.

"Let's test your flexibility, little man! I've always wanted to test it, but you were too big before so I couldn't manipulate your limbs!" She sat him on the table, cautiously watching for a moment just to make sure he would stay upright. He did, and his gaze was one of keen curiosity. "Hang on…" She suddenly interjected, leaning in to peer closely at his eyes. "Those pupils are… why are they changing size so quickly? Dilated to cover his irises completely…. Constricted to the point where I can't see them… Now they're catlike…" She took up a notebook and hurriedly scribbled some more. "Now they're completely round again…. And now there's some kind of fog over them! I don't think he can see me clearly anymore!" She took her penlight again and shined it into both eyes, the Titanlet objecting indignantly. "Fascinating! Now they're super dilated again!"

"Is there something wrong with him?" Mikasa asked worriedly, kneeling next to Hange as Armin stood behind them.

"Well, they're staying consistently dilated now. I wonder what's causing this, because right now there's too much light for his pupils to be so large." Eren's eyelids began fluttering, his eyes rolling upwards ever-so-slightly, before he lost his balance and landed in Hange's quick arms. His arms started flailing fussily and he made a weird gurgling sound.

"Eren!"

Then came something they hadn't expected. The little Titan opened his jaws and let out a cry. A cry they had never heard from him, completely different from all sounds he had made thus far; the cry of a human baby. It wasn't animalistic.

"Is that-?" Armin whispered, face pale. Hange was shaking in sheer excitement as she ran a hand along the side of the baby's face. His eyes were scrunched up tightly, and he seemed to be having issues with the structure of his mouth as his tongue lolled everywhere and his teeth clacked together.

"I think it is!" Hange exclaimed, prying open one eye. "I think tiny Eren has taken control of this little guy's body! He's behaving like a human, and seems completely unused to a Titan's body! Look- even his ears have stopped moving!"

Eren continued his crying, sounding distinctly like a newborn. It was unnerving, hearing such a sound from a little Titan.

Then it stopped, and he shook his head as though to clear it. His eyes returned to normal and his usual clicks and chirps were resumed.

"What…" Hange breathed, poking and prodding him curiously. He squawked indignantly and sat up again, albeit shakily. He seemed thoroughly exhausted. "I think… I think little Eren has fallen asleep… Yes, due to the maximum size he'd have to be to fit in this little man's nape, I would say he's a rather young fetus, meaning his consciousness would be in fits and bursts, not lasting very long. Just like when he was normal and he almost lost control of himself, his Titan mind would swoop in and take over, such as when he almost ate the Female Titan. They're functioning as two separate beings in one body! _Amazing!_ " Her squeal made Eren groan and flinch away. He didn't like the noises she made.

Mikasa, filled with a new bit of hope, said, "So Eren is still in there? He's human under all of this?" She gestured to the Titan.

Hange nodded. "I'd say so! Which means returning him to normal could be much easier than I originally thought!" She jotted this down in her notebook before diving right into flexibility testing. "Well, let's get this done before sunset; we can worry about our data later."

By the time she had finished, the sun was fully below the horizon and Eren was asleep again.

"Wow! He's _very_ flexible! Was he like this in his human form?" Hange asked eagerly. The teens shared a look before shaking their heads.

"No... well, not like _that_. He could practically do the splits if he wanted to, but just now it seemed like you could rotate his legs completely around, like a plastic doll! I doubt anyone here is that flexible!" Hange nodded and wrote this down as well.

"Unsurprising, really. Babies can be significantly more flexible than their adult counterparts, and Titans are mostly superior in terms of physical strengths. Combine those and you've got a little contortionist." In Mikasa's arms, Eren clacked his teeth and sleepily sat up. His green eyes blearily inched open, foggy with exhaustion. Mikasa held him tighter when she noticed how cold his skin had gotten.

"Hey there, Eren." Mikasa said gently, turning him so he was lying against her arms and facing her. He rubbed an eye and stared up at her. "Why are you awake? You need your sleep." He didn't offer a reply, just proceeded to wrap his hair around his neck before collapsing against her, dead to the world. She smiled fondly and swaddled him in his blanket.

"Is he cold again?" Hange asked from across the room, where she was preparing a glass slide with several saliva samples.

"Yeah. Can he not generate body heat?"

"I'd say not. Perhaps the babies start out practically cold-blooded, relying on their superheated mothers to keep them warm until they're developed enough to independently maintain a healthy and constant body temperature." As if to confirm this, Eren shivered and curled closer to Mikasa's warmth. "It's too bad he's out for the count; I wanted to get some more testing done tonight, but I guess it'll have to wait until tomorrow. Now, since we don't need to watch his egg anymore, we need a new system. How about you two share the bed and keep him between you for warmth? I've got plenty of work to do, so I'll take the cot for when I eventually need sleep." Her tone implied that it was not, in fact, a suggestion; she was ordering them to take the bed without argument. They nodded in acquiescence.

"Alright. Armin, you take the wall side?" Mikasa asked casually. This was an old routine by now, established during their time between Shiganshina's fall and joining the cadets. There was barely any room for the refugees to sleep, and so the three had been extremely lucky to share one mattress with a thin blanket to keep them warm. They were young children, and they were close friends; they were perfectly comfortable sleeping together, even now, as teenagers. Armin always took the side closest to the wall, afraid of rolling off of the bed in his sleep, and Mikasa always slept on the opposite edge, putting herself protectively between Eren and any shadow monsters lurking in the dark depths of the drafty room. Eren always slept between them, needing the comfort that both of them brought; he had watched his mother die, after all, and had suffered serious nightmares and night terrors during those first few months. It was their system, and it worked.

"Sure!" Armin confirmed needlessly, peeling the straps of his gear from his body before making himself comfortable in the corner between mattress and wall. Eren came next, delicately deposited with his head pillowed on the blonde's outstretched arm. Mikasa completed the human/Titan sandwich and curled herself protectively around Eren's tiny body, an arm wrapped around him. He cooed in his sleep and was still.

Armin and Mikasa shared a sad, knowing smile before they joined the baby in deep sleep.

 **I know, a bit rushed. Sorry! I wanted this to be updated, and I had specific information I wanted crammed into this chapter, so it kinda skips from one thing to the next fairly quickly.**

 **All information about basically everything was either made up or my own personal theory… Don't take it as truth…**

 **Thanks to everyone who has reviewed so far!**


	4. Chapter 4

"Mikasa?" Armin's soft voice pulled her from her tenuous slumber. Her eyelids fluttered open and her mouth pulled open in a yawn before she stretched slightly, examining her surroundings. She was lying on her side, facing Armin, with sunlight streaming in through the open window behind her.

"Yeah?" She muttered sleepily. It was still early, and they had a few hours before training started, so why-?

"Could you try warming him up? You're always much warmer than me." What? Her sleep-addled brain struggled to catch up to the situation and she raised a brow in question. "He woke me up with his shivering earlier… I guess he separated from you in his sleep… I tried sharing my body heat, and it's helped a little, but the poor little guy is still so cold…" Ah. Eren.

"Sure." Mikasa agreed, shifting to make room for the bundle currently held protectively to the blonde's chest. The Titan was wrapped in his blue blanket securely, and his tiny fist was gripping the teen's tunic tightly. He was shivering once again.

"Alright, here… we… go." Armin said as he passed the baby to her. Eren whimpered when he was transitioning, caught in the cold morning air, then pitifully clutched at Mikasa when he was safely in her arms. A chattering purr escaped his lipless mouth.

"Hey, Eren." The girl whispered into his pointed ear. She cradled him close and ran her free fingers through his hair to hopefully soothe him. Eventually his shivering stopped and he exhaled in content. "Are you okay?" His ear twitched before his emerald eyes opened to stare up at her inquisitively, instantly alert. He cooed. "Good morning to you, too," She replied.

The door creaked slightly as Hange snuck in. "Are you guys still asleep?" She whispered hesitantly.

"No, we're all awake." Armin answered. The woman nodded and approached, tickling under the Titan's chin fondly.

"Hey, big man! Ready for more testing? It's guaranteed to be a blast!" The infant merely scrunched his nose and then sneezed. "Pass him to me, wouldja?" Mikasa obliged, rolling onto her back and sitting up slowly before passing her precious cargo to the scientist. "Today I was thinking of testing intelligence, vision, hearing, and what foods he might be able to eat- considering he's just a baby and might need some sort of nutrient source, it's good to make sure. I'll start while you two go eat, and you can meet us later in the gardens."

The two teens groggily put on their gear and made their way to the mess hall, where Reiner, Jean, and Sasha were already seated and devouring their small portions. They joined them at the table and dug in. Never had they forgotten how hungry they were for so long.

"How's Eren?" Reiner asked conversationally. Jean tilted his head in curiosity.

"He's doing just fine. Gave us a few scares yesterday, but he's fine." Armin informed them between bites of bread.

"Has he tried to eat anyone yet?" Sasha asked. Mikasa glared at her.

"No, he has not."

"Oh. Good!"

"Do you know when he'll be back to normal?"

The teens shared a look, not having thought too much about it due to other pressing matters.

"We don't know yet. I'm sure it'll be soon, though."

 _Line Break_

By the time they had stuffed themselves and made it to the gardens, intelligence testing had been completed. Hange was seated between two patches of carrots, Eren standing on wobbly legs and clinging to her fingers for dear life.

"Check it out, guys!" Hange called, startling the Titan momentarily. He squeaked and his grip on her fingers tightened. "He's proven to be _very_ intelligent! He can recognize short patterns, and his learning capability is astounding! Now he's trying to walk, which seems promising." She moved her hands closer to herself, and his legs stumbled to support his weight as he took halting steps forward.

"Good job, Eren!" Mikasa praised, kneeling beside him and clapping very softly. He heard the please tone of her voice and preened accordingly. "Does this mean he's aging faster, or just developing faster?"

Hange paused thoughtfully and let Eren sit on the grass. "Well, considering he has yet to grow and we haven't seen any more of fetus Eren, it's safe to say he's still about the same age- so no, he's not aging faster, it's just a Titan's standard of development, I suppose. At this rate, he'll be running by noon!"

For the following two hours before the teens would have to leave for training, most time was spent focused on his quickly increasing grasp of standing, balancing, and moving.

"C'mon, little man, you've got it!" Hange crooned, prying her fingers from his death grip. He stood perfectly fine on his own, but his eyes were still wide with panic. "Just put one foot forward, like this." She gestured to Armin, who demonstrated the simple move. The Titanlet watched with rapt interest, ears erect, and the look in his eyes morphed into something like understanding. "Okay, now that he's been given explicit directions on what to do, he should have a better grasp of it- ah, there! _See_?" The baby, who had started imitating the movement, cried out in surprise and fell back onto his butt. "Oops, sorry, little guy!" She amended.

He shook his head and reached for Mikasa's hand. She obliged and pulled up, Eren keeping his legs stiff to allow the motion to get him to a standing position. He surprised her by letting go on his own, determination settling on his little face. His hair had to be held behind him to avoid him slipping or tangling himself in it.

"You weren't kidding about his learning capability!" Armin exclaimed as the child took his first independent step towards Hange, who had her arms outstretched to catch him if he fell. The scientist squealed quietly as he slowly but surely made his way to her, collapsing into her arms in exhaustion after he was finished. "He figured that out after seeing a demonstration _once_!"

"Yes, and that's what's thrilling about it! Human children need not only months of observation and coaxing to start walking, they also need to take things slowly, learn things one at a time, taking lots of time to fully master one skill before moving on to the next. Humans are intelligent and incredible with the things they can learn, sure, but this surpasses that by a long shot! He's been out and about for two days, has only _seen_ us walk a few times- he's been in our arms most of the time, and he's been too busy looking at his surroundings- and was only directly shown how to do it once- and yet he's managed to stand on his own, tense and relax all the appropriate muscles to maintain balance, and _walk_! All within the span of two hours!" As she spoke, she adjusted the panting Titan in her arms and began tracing the outlines of his facial features with a delicate finger. "This tells us a lot about the environment most Titans probably live in during the early stages of life- they've evolved to have a superior learning capability so that they can understand and master the necessary skills to survive. Actually, probably not normal Titans- but abnormals certainly fit the profile better. Anyways, their muscles are strong and ready to develop muscle memory much faster and earlier than a human's, and their brains are also developed enough to effectively command the muscles and figure out which ones should do what to get whichever desired effect- or, in this case, whichever desired movement they're trying to pull off. This allows for quicker mastery of initial adaptation- walking, standing, adjusting position, turning and supporting the head, and that sort of thing that infants will need to be more independent. This means that their mothers probably aren't around for very long- the first few weeks are probably full of endless survival education, with the mommies demonstrating each necessary task. Since the babies catch on so quickly, they'd be ready to do most tasks by the end of a month, meaning they wouldn't need their mothers for anything but protection- unless they grow substantially in that time period, in which case the mothers are completely unnecessary and could leave, most likely to make more babies, thus explaining their rapid population increase so long ago. _Fascinating!_ "

"Well, it's 11:00, time for training." Armin reluctantly said. Mikasa nodded and they both stood to leave. "We'll see if he's running by noon!" He said with a chuckle. Hange grinned.

"Challenge accepted, Arlert- he'll be running laps around you! An hour is plenty of time!" She boasted, bouncing the Titan she was so attached to. The teens laughed and waved goodbye, sneaking away while Hange distracted Eren with her wiggling fingers.

"It's just you and me, kid." She said after the two had gone. He cooed and pulled on her hair, taking a fistful of his own in the other hand and comparing them. "Oh, you are so smart!"

He paused to gaze up at her with wide green eyes before returning to his studies.

"Are you ready to run, little man?"

Half an hour later, he was successfully trotting in circles around a patch of wild yellow flours. His tiny gait was slightly awkward and his hair kept getting caught on things, but he had the hang of it and was moving unnervingly fast for one so young.

Hange re-did her ponytail and wiped her glasses. Her notebooks were now overflowing with observations and doodles.

"Alright, I wanted to test your vision and hearing, but we'll wait until noon to test that." She decided, planning to use Armin and Mikasa as objects he could track by sound. "Until then, let's get the food out of the way, okay?"

She removed a small napkin from her pocket and unfolded it to reveal little portions of almost every food available at their base. Cheese, bread, some fruits and vegetables, a flask of broth, and several types of meats were displayed before the Titanlet, who plopped onto the grass and stared at them with a small fist between his jaws.

"Anything look appetizing?" She asked, watching avidly. He showed interest in the bread, the biggest thing before him, and picked it up to look more closely. He weighed it, sniffed it, poked it, but did nothing to put it in his mouth. Therefore she took the liberty of showing him how to eat it, taking a tiny nibble before motioning him to do the same.

…

He was confused. He had done all the tests he could think of on the strange stone, but nothing had suggested it was meant for his consumption. But Loud was clearly indicating that he should try it anyway. She hadn't led him astray so far- well, too _far_ astray- and seemed fairly worthy of his trust. So, ignoring the warning grumble of his belly, he stuck the thing in his mouth, gnawed on it with his serrated jaws, then swallowed.

It tasted odd, and it didn't sit well in his tummy. He decided he didn't like this 'bread'. He made a face he had seen Mother make earlier to relay his distaste, pleased to find that she understood.

"Duz-nt-tayst-good?" The female said. He didn't quite get what she was saying, but it was an inquiry, so he stuck his tongue out as answer. She made a weird bubbly sound- laughing, Sun had called it- and handed him a yellow square that smelled of dairy. He wrinkled his nose and didn't bother trying it- that smell told him it was toxic, and that was that.

Next he was handed an orange stick that had a strange… watery scent to it. He'd never seen anything like it before, so when Loud suggested he eat it, he complied. It wasn't _as_ offensive to his taste buds, but it fell like a rock to his stomach, making it gurgle inaudibly in discomfort. He knew instinctively that this feeling was _bad_ , but having never experienced any sort of consequence for that feeling in his short life, he found no reason to worry too much on it. He was too fascinated by the spread of scents in front of him, anyway.

Next was a strange glass container full of murky water. He could smell steam on it, and could feel the way Loud's skin absorbed the thermal energy, indicating the contents of the bottle were hot. He cocked his head in question- _what is it?_ Loud laughed and instructed him to tilt his head back, then poured the warm, smelly water down his throat. He objected at first, but eventually his throat betrayed him and swallowed. He found this _stuff_ tasted better than everything else so far, even to the point that it tasted _good_. He gurgled in content, then stopped when his tummy lurched again.

"Cahn-yoo-eet-thihs?" Was another question, followed by the presentation of some sort of round purple thing. He sniffed it, found it was virtually scentless, then decided that something so small wouldn't hurt. He bit it, surprised by the crunch it made, and swallowed its juices, immediately regretting it- it stung his throat all the way down. He choked and spit out the gnashed circle, growling at it through his sore vocal cords for good measure.

He didn't want to try any more of these _not-foods_.

Now his belly was hurting more, and his throat was beginning to warm and produce some sort of liquid. It was preparing for something, but he didn't know what and didn't care to find out. When Loud finished scribbling in her book, she held out a crumbly brown thing that smelled salty. His stomach lurched, his head spun, his ears began hurting.

Letting out a verbal representation of his displeasure and sick feeling, he dizzily shot up from the ground and ran as fast as his legs could carry him in the opposite direction.

"Hay!" Loud called from behind him, giving chase. Suddenly distressed at the thought of her catching up to him, some primal instinct finding danger in this situation of being chased by a bigger being, he felt his insides shift. His muscles began working of their own accord, allowing him to run without conscious thought. His eyes suddenly saw everything in crisp, minute detail, and his ears flattened to rest on his skull. His hair stayed behind him and out of the way of his legs, and his clenched fists began pumping at his sides. His heart beat faster and something fiery flew through his veins, giving him a burst of energy. A puff of steam escaped his skin, substantially decreasing the weight of excess water in him, and his lungs shut down altogether, allowing for smoother movements and clearer vision without breaths rattling his frame- he didn't need to breathe, anyway, so he was taking full advantage of that. And with all of these processes complete in less than a second, his pupils dilated to catlike slits before he planted a foot firmly in the grass, pushing off mid-stride and sprinting like he never had before. He could hear her fading with increased distance between them but never bothered to turn to look; his other senses could easily tell him what everything looked like outside of his field of vision.

His tummy was settled for the time being, the adrenaline pumping through him somehow communicating that now was the time to focus on escape rather than- _whatever_ his tummy had wanted to do earlier. But it was still there in the back of his mind. He knew that when he stopped running at lightning speeds, the uncomfortable process would resume.

He weaved through a patch of tall trees before making a sharp turn and ducking into a small building that smelled of equine. There were at least five horses in there, but, bred as they were, they didn't react to his abrupt presence.

He skidded to a halt in an empty stall, where he curled in on himself in a comfy pile of straw. He allowed himself to breathe again, simply for the pleasure of panting in exertion to allow him to calm down. The oxygen helped a bit, and then his body was pretty much back to normal- except that now the discomfort in his belly was back, turning into full-fledged pain. He jerked and scrambled onto his elbows and knees, coughing from deep in his throat as saliva seemed to coat his esophagus. There was a lurching pain as something broke free in his stomach, and soon something was working its way _up_ his throat- that wasn't right! While his brain was rushing with panic, his body and instincts had taken over in its distraction and he was heaving, his jaw unhooking itself. He rolled his gut and coughed harder until the _thing_ was right in his mouth, almost bigger than it! It wouldn't fit! Then the flesh on both sides of his face ripped open, his jaw expanded further, and the warm bundle was ejected onto the stable's stone floor.

He gasped and choked, pained, as he collapsed in a heap onto the straw. His face began steaming and the nerves tingled, but he didn't care. His jaw snapped itself into place, but he hardly noticed. And he paid no attention to the pale pink ball of stomach lining. He clenched his eyes shut and let out a shuddering exhale. His tummy was still hurting, but now it was a burning, tingling, sharp kind of pain as something inside of it healed. It _hurt_ , and he hated it.

And suddenly he caught a whiff of something he _knew_ would make it all better, something he _could_ eat, something he knew, deep down, that would make the pain stop. He smelled _food_ , and it was close- just a few miles away, its scent carried on the breeze.

He stood again, listened for any larger talking Titans- Loud had called them Humans- and found none in his vicinity. This was all the encouragement he needed, and after taking a moment to absorb a few healing rays of sun, he took off again, desperation making his feet just as swift as before. He travelled the five-mile distance in almost two whole minutes, and by the time he had located the source of the delicious aroma, he had passed two different talking Titans, who were both now ten feet behind him, sprinting like one of his taller brethren was on their tails.

"Ehrehn!" The short, bald male was shouting.

"Yayger!" The taller, equine-looking one was yelling, almost sounding like he was scolding.

He ignored them both, picking up the pace when a flash of pain shot through his stomach again.

There was a large formation of Humans ahead of him, and they all smelled like food, delicious and welcoming. They were watching someone standing at the front, and all were panting heavily. He picked up the scent of Sun first- he was the more aromatic, it seemed, and, tempted as he was, the little Titan still steeled himself and kept sprinting, darting between rows of the young Humans and passing Sun. The blonde shouted after him, but was ignored.

Soon he located the one he desired- Mother, whose scent wasn't as heavy. He let out a squeal and barreled towards her. She heard him and was instantly on the ground with outstretched arms, paying no mind to the looks she received.

With a cry, he launched himself into her arms, the momentum almost enough to send them tumbling to the ground- but Mother was strong and firm, so she stayed steady and she held him to her. He nuzzled into her for a moment, enjoying her company; Mother, the one who made everything better, and the scent of food, something that would make his pain go away. That was enough to lift his spirits, even as his cheeks continued healing and steaming and stinging. Even as his stomach was stabbed with pain again.

Actually, no, that last pain was enough to break his peace of mind. He took her hand in his and stuck it in his mouth, sucking on it as hard as he could. He was disappointed when only a little bit of that delicious, healing fluid trickled down his throat- he should have gone to Sun, who smelled more heavily of food! But his instincts had, of course, gotten mixed up so that maternal comfort was suddenly a big deciding factor. Stupid!

"Wahs-rong-Ehrehn?" Mother whispered in his ear, sounding concerned. How he wished he could talk like she could! Or that she was like other Mothers, and would understand the way he _did_ speak!

Instead he settled for gurgling in what he hoped was pain. She seemed to get the gist of it, because she scooped him into her arms and rubbed his back through his hair, which was now tangled around sticks and grass.

"Ahkermin! Wuht-ar-yoo-dooeng-with-thaht?" A loud voice snapped from behind him, making him jump a little. Then he caught a whiff of something other than Mother's scent- _food_! And the male smelled so strongly of it, like he had been exerting himself much longer than Mother! It was almost too good to be true!

With a thrilled squee, he jumped from Mother's safe arms onto the small male, clinging to him with superior strength. Now driven to frenzy with hunger and the need to end the pain, he forcibly grabbed the Human's arm, ripped the sleeve from it, and clamped down onto it.

…

"Eren!" Mikasa yelled as the baby locked his teeth around Levi's forearm. She was horrified- such an act meant the Scouts now had a reason to kill Eren! He was trying to eat the Corporal!

"What the f-" Levi exclaimed, caught off guard. He jerked his arm in response to the attack, but the Titanlet refused to budge, instead wrapping around him even tighter and whining. "Jaeger, what the hell!"

"Eren, let go!" Armin begged, shouldering past the other recruits.

Several other Scouts had drawn their blades and were now approaching menacingly.

"Do you see that?"

"He's trying to eat Captain Levi!"

"He needs to be put down!"

"If he grows, he'll eat us all!"

Mikasa threw herself in front of Eren defensively.

"Please, leave him alone!" She begged, drawing her own blades. "I'm sure there's a reasonable explanation!" Her pleas went unheard.

"Stand down." Levi said calmly, surprising everyone. They all obeyed. "He isn't trying to eat me- he isn't biting, he's suckling." Armin almost fell to his knees with relief. Thank all that was holy that Levi was so levelheaded!

"Suckling?"

"Yes, his tongue is wrapped around my arm- freaky little lizard bastard." He informed grumpily. He sat on the grass to relieve himself a little of Eren's impossibly tight grip, sitting the creature on the ground and letting him continue to cling to his arm. "Eugh, it's like a goddamn tentacle."

"So… he's not biting you…"

"No. His teeth just happen to be resting on my arm, nothing more. Go back to the dorms; training is done for today." Levi ordered. Jean and Connie, who had spent several minutes chasing after Eren, were the first to reach the castle. The rest of the group shared hesitant glances before finally doing as told. "Now, explain to me why this sprite is running free, without supervision?" The man demanded, gesturing to the small creature latched onto him.

"I- He's supposed to be with Section Command-"

"EERREEEENNNN!"

"-er Hange."

Hange came sprinting onto the training grounds, shoving past several stragglers before collapsing on the ground next to Levi.

"I… Searched everywhere… He was going over… fifty miles… per hour… Lost… Now he's… here?" She asked between gasps.

"Yes, Hange, he's here- snacking on my arm."

" _What_?" She shrieked, head shooting up to stare. "No- he doesn't eat humans!"

"He's not eating me, but his freakish tongue is sucking something from my arm, and it's quite uncomfortable." Levi retorted, lifting his arm a little. Eren chirruped before continuing his suckling.

"That's- amazing! Tell me everything!" Hange commanded, looking closely between Eren's jaws to observe his tongue as it pulsed.

"Well, he came sprinting, ran past me and into Mikasa's arms, licked her arm a little, cried, jumped on Levi, and started doing this." Armin explained.

"Interesting… He's drinking your sweat, Levi. You've been exercising longer than Mikasa has, so when he found her mostly dry skin less than satisfying, you must have looked completely delicious!"

Eren gave a final coo before releasing the Corporal's arm and falling onto his back on the grass, looking completely and utterly happy.

"Look at your arm, Levi! Looks like he drained most of the moisture from your skin as well! That must be what he eats- some sort of chemical in our skin that's secreted in sweat!

…

As the Humans continued discussing whatever was holding their interest, he sighed in satisfaction and stretched. He felt ten times better after feeding, and the food had immediately calmed his raging stomach and ceased all pains. Now he was tired from his almost ten mile run, and was more than content to take this opportunity to rest a little.

…

"Can you figure out _which_ chemical so we can make our own and he can stop drying out people's arms?" Levi asked with a frown, wiping the appendage clean of drool.

"I suppose- but it'll take quite a long time, so I may be using your sweaty-ass arms sporadically for the next few days." Hange replied. He scowled but offered no reply.

"Well, Hange, I suppose you won." Armin suddenly said cheekily. The woman raised an eyebrow as she pulled Eren into her arms.

"Won what?"

"Well, it's noon now, and he certainly came to us running."

 **Shitty place to end a chapter, right? It was getting SO long, though, and I need to pace myself before my brain explodes.**

 **I know, he's developing much too fast- part of the story's plot, peeps!**

 **Also, because I'm paranoid, I'll repeat this: almost all 'facts' about his Titan form are completely made up or my own personal theory. Please don't hate on my story because its facts are inaccurate.**

 **Hope you enjoyed! Also, I know I didn't go too in-depth with the intelligence testing, but that's because, unlike Red Coaster, who's got everything covered awesomely, I could think of nothing or how to write it in, so I just said that it was done and didn't get too detailed. Apologies if that somehow ruins your day!**

 **Anywho, that's all I got for ya today, lovelies!**

 **Was the brief ErenPOV okay? Should I do more like that in the future?**

 **Also, yes, he think Mikasa's his mama since he's like a duckling, imprinting on the first motherly figure he comes by. BTW, Sun is Armin, if you didn't know. Since his hair is bright yellow, like the sun-? Yeah.**

 **Please don't forget to review- it makes my day!**

 **HAPPY NEW YEAR!**


	5. Chapter 5

"Hold still, Eren." Hange scolded lightly as she tied the cloth around his head. He squawked and kept thrashing, superior strength making it difficult to simply keep ahold of him. She sighed as he tore the blindfold off once again. "Could you two help?" She asked Armin and Mikasa.

Mikasa nodded and stepped forward, crouching beside the woman. "Eren," She called, the Titan instantly stopping at the sound of her voice. His angered noises morphed into excited ones. "Come here." She held her arms open and he didn't hesitate to run into them, wrapping his small arms around her midsection as best as he could. Mikasa nodded to Hange, who crept forward and, with lightning reflexes, hooked the cloth around his face and tied it securely, careful to avoid tangling his hair in the knot.

He screeched and reached up to claw at the material that blocked his vision, but Mikasa quickly slapped his hands away and made a correcting 'ch' noise from between her teeth. Eren jerked back, looking betrayed and confused with his ears drooping the way they were. His little hands toyed with each other for a moment before they sneakily began rising to his face again- only for the girl to repeat the action and say, firmly, "No, Eren." He hummed dejectedly but did as told.

Hange was grinning like a maniac as she tore a new notebook open and began scribbling. "Amazing! He's able to learn through behavioral corrections as well, similar to how dogs are trained!" Mikasa waited a few seconds to be sure he'd heeded her warning before rewarding him with a gentle hand caressing his nose lovingly.

"That's a good boy," She whispered in praise. He cooed and grabbed her finger, squeezing it with both tiny fists. When she hissed a little in pain, he startled before lessening his grip to more tolerable levels.

Hange picked him up from under his arms and balanced him on her hip like an experienced mother holding her toddler. Mikasa stood and went to join Armin at the other end of the training grounds, over fifty feet away from the scientist and her cargo. When she reached the designated point, Hange began shouting instructions.

"Alright, stay exactly where you are and don't make a sound! Don't move a muscle!"

"Understood!" The two shouted back.

The woman then took two wads of cotton and carefully planted them in Eren's ears, deftly slapping his hands away when he went to remove them. By repeating Mikasa's actions from earlier, she successfully taught him to leave the earplugs alone. He wasn't happy with it, but was compliant nonetheless.

"Alright, little man, let's do this." She said, lowering him to the ground. His legs searched frantically for a ground he couldn't see or feel and a frightened squeak left his lipless mouth. When his grasping toes met grass, he loosened up and let out a puff of steam. She kept her hands on his shoulders to keep him in place. "Ready?" She yelled.

"Ready!" Her 'assistants' replied just as loudly.

With a flourish, she removed her grip on him and used her knee to delicately urge him forward.

…

He was floundering in a world he couldn't see and could barely hear through the fluffy stuff in his ears. Those were his dominant senses! Why did they do this to him? Why had Mother agreed to this? Had he done something wrong? No, Mother had seemed pleased with his submission, and Mothers didn't enjoy the pain of their young. Surely this was something completely normal that he, a mere 'Let, just hadn't had the chance to get a firm grasp on yet. Was this a test? A rite of passage? Well, he would pass with flying colors.

What was he supposed to do, though? Was he to track something using only his touch, smell and taste? He could do it, he was sure. But what was he to track?

Loud was nudging him from behind, forcing him forward a few steps. His toes dug into the loose dirt to serve as an anchor of sorts- more for psychological benefit than for actual physical effectiveness. Thousands of scents assaulted his nose at once, making him scrunch it up in the hopes of closing his sinuses off before he was completely overwhelmed. His ears were flicking back and forth in a vain attempt to find a clear noise to latch onto, more out of habit than anything; it was useless- all he could hear was the dull roar of wind pushing on the fuzz and the sound of his own blood rushing.

The wind was blowing towards him, he noticed. And with it came a scent so familiar that it drowned out all else: Mother. She was ahead of him! Judging by the faintness, he decided that she was very far away- but still there. He could work with this- tracking by scent was a natural process for him, anyways, and he was sure, now that he had something to go _to_ , that he could do it just as well without sight or hearing.

He released a puff of steam to cool himself off slightly before hesitantly putting his right foot out in front of him. His heel rested in the grass for a moment and then he put his full weight on the foot, insides jumping when he realized that there was no unseen drop he had feared he'd fall into without his eyesight. With this first successful step came a boost in his confidence. He could do this! He could get to Mother and make her proud with his superior hunting abilities! His next steps were faster, longer in stride, and before he knew it he was running at full speed, the scent getting stronger as he went.

Some sort of instinct had him slow down after a few feet, however. Something was in front of him, though he had no way of knowing what it was.

Except… His nostrils flared and picked up the strong scent of _tree_ right away. _Tree_ , but no _leaf_. A dead branch? His mind pulled up several images of various branches he'd seen; they varied in size and length, which didn't help very much. But Mother was waiting for him on the other side of this obstacle, so he'd do his best to think through an action plan.

What kinds of trees were near? He recalled some smaller ones- much smaller than the ones that comprised the ominous forest- that flanked this training area on most sides. Those branches were thin and long. His best bet was jumping over it- if memory served, he could easily hop over something that thin.

He stomped one foot experimentally and, with the other, dug a toe through the thick grass to rest upon the bare dirt. He put all of his strength into another stomp, this time the dirt shaking with the impact. Then, milliseconds later, a secondary vibration came through- this one weaker and not from his foot. It was the branch, momentarily lifting the slightest bit from the ground, as his blow had made the ground shake, and making contact once again. From this he could then make out that the branch was only a few inches from him, and one long leap would have him over it.

He tensed his muscles and jumped.

…

Hange stared in shock- he was using vibrations to locate? The branch had fallen from a nearby tree and onto the field without them noticing- it wasn't supposed to be there. And yet he still managed to use the advantage of his heightened senses- the remaining ones strengthened further to compensate for blindness and near deafness- to work his way out of the problem.

Theories raced through her mind as she hurried to write everything she possibly could, along with a few scribbled diagrams and illustrations. While Moblit came in handy sometimes, there was nothing more trustworthy than something written by her own hand, to her own specifications.

She was fascinated by the sheer brute strength such a tiny being possessed- he could stomp on the ground hard enough to shake it and shift a branch enough that his enhanced sense of touch could pick up its tiniest vibrations and thus find a rough location for it! She'd seen how strong this tiny Titan could be, but this was abnormal even for him- he was at least twice as strong as he'd been that morning.

Were his muscles developing faster the more he used them? He'd run over seven miles that morning, and if that wasn't a leg workout, she didn't know what was. That could explain his suddenly super-strong legs. Perhaps it was an adaptation to help the babies gain independence sooner? He could easily defend himself by now, with that kind of power packed into his little frame. It didn't seem physically possible, and yet he'd just proved it was.

She watched as he easily made it over the branch- when he'd landed, he repeated the technique to make sure that the obstacle was, indeed, behind him now. Then he sniffed the air and ran straight at Mikasa, chirping in excitement.

 _Can track with smell and touch alone from up to fifty feet away._ She wrote.

Eren launched himself at Mikasa's legs. The girl laughed genuinely and scooped him up into her arms as Hange jogged over. The Titanlet was squealing happily as the teen pulled the blindfold from his face and removed the earplugs.

"Good job, Eren!" Mikasa praised quietly as his ears adjusted to the returned clarity of auditory input. He was blinking rapidly as the sunlight burned his eyes.

"Did you see him?" Armin asked excitedly as he approached as well. "He knew to jump over the branch!"

"He did!" Hange interjected as she reached the trio. "He was somehow able to sense the presence of something new in his vicinity, then used vibrations to locate it and calculate how far he needed to jump to get over it! Even his less-used senses are finely tuned and ready for excessive use!" She exclaimed.

Eren grunted in pride and clutched at Mikasa's tunic, ears wiggling.

"That's pretty amazing!" Armin commented, rubbing the baby's back. His hand came away coated in filth. "Oh, wow. He's _really_ dirty."

Hange crowed. "Oh yes! Bath time!"

"I'll say." Mikasa said in a deadpan, removing Eren from her chest slightly to reveal a perfectly Titanlet-shaped dirt splotch marring the white of her tunic. "Let's bathe him before Levi sees this and has a fit."

 _Line Break_

Hange was right, earlier, when she'd briefly explained that humans were very advanced in terms of learning and adapting- even if Titans were far superior at it. And if there was one thing _these_ humans had learned that day, it was that Eren. Hated. Baths.

In fact, he hated baths so much that he'd nearly kicked a hole in the wooden washtub in his attempts to escape the water. It had taken the combined efforts of Mikasa, Jean (Armin was, unfortunately, on dish duty for the afternoon and was too shy to ask someone else to do it for him), Sasha and Hange to get his legs submerged, and had required another behavioral correction to get him to sit still once he was set down fully.

He was currently sitting with his head bowed, eyes clenched shut with tears falling down his face. It was quite possibly the most pitiful thing Mikasa had ever seen, and that was saying something, considering plenty of her peers were pitiful in her opinion. Her heart broke a little at the way his tiny shoulders hitched with the sobs emanating from his open mouth that sounded like a broken pup left all alone. In the dark. And the cold.

Jean was begrudgingly standing off to the side as backup should things turn tantrum-y again, Hange was near him and writing down further observations, and the two girls were in charge of washing the Titan.

"Hey, little guy! It's alright!" Sasha crooned as she knelt by his face, trying to wipe the tears from it. He just gurgled and flinched away from her touch. She sighed and went back to gathering up his excessive hair to place it in the tub. "Hey, Mikasa? What's this branch doing in his hair?" She asked.

The other teen paused in the act of sponging his back clean to look at her and the large stick tangled in the clump of hair she held. "That's the one he jumped over earlier… It must have gotten stuck." She observed. "We're going to have to do something about this hair- it's starting to make it hard for him to function."

"Do we cut it?"

Mikasa thought for a few moments before shaking her head, dipping the sponge back in the lukewarm water. "Not right now. First we'll focus on cleaning him, then we'll figure out what to do with it."

Mikasa found it very upsetting when the infant flinched away from her touch as he'd done with Sasha. She knew he could tell it was her, but that didn't seem to make him feel any better. She moved the sponge to his back and, forcefully ignoring his attempt to withdraw, began scrubbing the filth from his thick skin. His feeble attempts eventually weakened before he was just sitting in the tub, not bothering to object anymore.

"He supposed to be lethargic?" Jean said after a few tense minutes.

Sasha answered him even as she continued scrubbing the ends of his hair between her soapy hands.

"He's just stressed out, is all. Right, Mikasa?" She chirped. Mikasa just nodded and lifted Eren's chin to clean his face.

His bright green eyes were watery and hesitant to make direct contact with hers, and his ears had drooped sadly. The sight tugged at her heartstrings.

"What's wrong, Eren?" She whispered. His little pointed ear twitched before lying still again. "Are you hurting again? Do you need something?" He didn't reply. She sighed and gently rubbed her washcloth over his face, cleaning all creases and wiping the grimy layer from his teeth. She stole a glance at the window, where beams of evening sunlight were lazily drifting in. _Is this because the sun is setting?_

Hange stepped forward to kneel beside Mikasa. "Kirstein's right- there's something wrong. There's still plenty of sunlight for him to be more active than this." She said, concerned. Then she turned to the target of their conversation. "Are you scared?" She asked rhetorically. He didn't reply. "Maybe he's just tired. He's had a long day, after all." Mikasa nodded.

"Done with the rest of his hair- just need to get the scalp now!" Sasha reported. Mikasa decided she would take care of this task, took the bottle of liquid soap and squirted some on the crown of his head. He didn't react to the cold goo, and that added to her worry. Why was he suddenly so depressed?

She gently massaged his scalp, getting the soap onto every inch of it. He seemed to like this, and leaned into her touch just slightly.

The girl came to the realization that his hair was _heavy_ when wet. How was he supposed to carry this around? They would definitely have to cut it.

When she pulled her hands away again to fill a cup of water to rinse his head, his shoulders started shaking with tiny sobs again. He squeezed his eyes shut and tears escaped them.

"Aw… What's wrong, sweet baby?" Sasha soothed, cupping his face with one hand. Eren sniffled but didn't reject the physical contact. "Are you getting sick? Huh? Are you not feeling well?"

Hange was quick to chip in with, "I don't think that's poss-" before a sob from Eren effectively shut her up.

Even Jean was starting to get subtly concerned. "What's up with him?"

"I don't know…" Hange answered, studying the Titanlet closely.

…

He wanted Mother so badly that it hurt. He wanted her to pick him up and hold him and warm him and lull him to sleep with her melodic voice. But she had put him in this fluid and was now only briefly touching him to wipe his various body parts or scratch his head. He hadn't known _why_ he was reacting so poorly to the partial submersion at first- had chalked it up to sensory overload, as was wont to happen to him from time to time. The water smelled odd, the 'soap' was overpowering in its scent, the light reflected on the water was too bright, the Humans towering over him was stressful…

But now he knew what the problem was. The water reminded him on a deep level of his time trapped in his egg, when he was isolated from Mother and Sun and even Loud. He'd woken up for seconds at a time a few times during that timespan, but it had always been when Mother was looking away _right there, so close!_ and he wasn't able to move to catch her attention. The helplessness of wanting to be free of his floating prison came crashing back to him. The loneliness of _seeing,_ but never _feeling_ , Mother.

He felt so amazingly alone, even with these Humans blockading him from all sides. Why wouldn't they _hold_ him? Free him of this new egg? Why would they only settle for poking at him through a barrier of cloth material?

He had never felt so sad before- not even in the egg. And he had never cried from pure loneliness before. He didn't like the feeling. All the energy just seemed to leave his body, the will to do _something_ was almost nonexistent.

He simply stopped breathing when Mother poured water onto his head, not bothering to tilt it backwards instead. Was this to be his life?

Wait! Yes! Hands went under his armpits and slowly lifted him until not even his big toe was touching the water anymore. He almost squeaked in joy, but the overwhelming relief that it was over was enough to have him sobbing even harder, latching onto whoever was holding him- the one who smelled of Human food. He didn't even care that she wasn't Mother- he just wanted to _feel_ her arms around him. She obliged and cradled him against her chest, rubbing his back soothingly.

"Iss-alrite-hunee." She said quietly. He clenched his eyes shut and tightened his hold on her, shivering.

…

Sasha rocked the traumatized infant in her arms, lightly kissing his head until he had stopped sobbing and was simply lying against her, staring at something off to the side with his head tucked under her chin. He took a shuddering inhale before releasing it in a puff of steam.

"There there, baby… You're okay now…" Sasha continued to murmur to him.

"I didn't know you were good with babies." Jean commented quietly in surprise. Sasha smiled.

"Six younger siblings have made me an expert." She said with a warm look. They all nodded- it made sense. "You just wanted some lovin', huh?" She cooed at the Titan, who hiccupped and stuck a fist between his jaws. "Yeah, you did."

Mikasa pulled Hange aside. "What was the cause of that episode?" She asked.

Hange adjusted her glasses. "I'm not sure- I suppose the water brought up some sort of memory, but who knows? He can't tell us, so there's no way to be entirely sure. The only thing we can think of right now is that he's better now."

The girl sighed. How was she supposed to help comfort Eren when she had no idea what the problem was?

"The biggest problem right now is figuring out what to do with his hair." Hange continued, eyeing the sopping wet length of dark hair touching the floor. "I think we should cut it, but we have to be careful not to cut it too close to his neck- that'll stress him out. He'll need it to be long enough to wrap around his neck, too." She observed.

They turned to look at Eren, who was still cuddling Sasha, but whose eyes were now fixed solely on Jean. His brows were furrowed and he clacked his teeth thoughtfully. Mikasa could only wonder what was going through his mind- and that hurt, because she used to know Eren better than she knew herself.

"Alright," She said. "Let's cut it to about… here." She approached and pointed to his hair at a level that was just above his buttocks. "That should help significantly."

Jean was left with dealing with the bathwater- which was actually hotter than before, considering a Titan had been in it recently- while the other three went back outside. The sunlight was red and weak as the sun slowly sank below the horizon, and they could tell it was already affecting Eren. He was limply cradled in Mikasa's arms, and barely acknowledged Sasha, who was walking backwards ahead of them and trying to entertain him with faces.

"I know you're tired, Hon, but this will only take a minute." Hange soothed as she led the way to the courtyard. The ground there was paved with concrete and was used for training when the grass was too wet, sometimes used for eating outdoors if the weather was nice enough.

"Alright… Mikasa, you should cut it since you're the best with the blades." Sasha said, sitting cross-legged on the ground. Hange nodded in agreement.

They needed to use their actual combat blades for this, because Hange had determined earlier that his hair was different from a human's- thicker and sturdier- to the point that regular shears did nothing.

Mikasa was reluctant at first- she had wanted to hold Eren during the procedure to keep him calm and comforted. But they _were_ right; she knew she could trust her own abilities when it came to using the blades so close to Eren's body. She nodded and handed him to Sasha, who laid him horizontally in her lap with her arms supporting his head. He was too tired to object.

Hange then ran to the nearby castle and grabbed a spare set of swords and a tape measure. She laid the measure straight across his hair, which was laid straight out on the ground behind him, to provide a guide for where to cut. Then she handed a blade to the teen.

"You'll need to be careful with how much force you use- too much, you'll damage the blade and Levi'll have you sweeping the stables for a month. Too little and you'll both fail to cut through and also spook Eren and lose our chance of getting this done." Hange instructed. Mikasa nodded and got into position, both hands firmly grasping the handle.

"Sasha, distract him in three… two… one!" Mikasa exclaimed, allowing the other girl to do as told before forcefully bringing the sword down onto the ebony locks.

It was a perfect cut- completely straight and even, directly where it was supposed to be, and with the perfect amount of power behind it. The hair severed completely and neatly.

The three girls all laughed nervously now that there was nothing to worry about.

"Good job, Ackerman." Hange praised, wiping the sweat from her brow. "Exactly what was needed."

The teen nodded in thanks before kneeling beside Sasha to check on Eren.

"Um, Section Commander?" Sasha was asking, sounding unsure.

"Yes?"

The girl swallowed and ran a hand over the baby's cheek.

"I think she scared him."

Mikasa noticed exactly what she meant the moment she saw the infant's face- red, puckered, eyes wide and teary. His breathing was quick and shallow. He didn't respond to Sasha's touch, his breathing picking up after a few moments of staring into space in shock.

Then his face crumpled and he let out the loudest, most fearful cry they'd ever heard.

…

"Captain Levi! Captain Levi!" A young Scout ran into Levi's office without so much as knocking, his face red and sweaty and his breathing heavy.

Levi paused in his paperwork and looked up, one eyebrow raised until it was nearly touching his hairline. "What is it?" _This had better be good. If it's about that shriek a few minutes ago…_

The younger man didn't even stop to steady his breathing. "Annie Leonhart, Sir! She's moved!"

 **Gah! Scene!**

 **This took me FOREVER to write! Honestly, though, I can't say I like this chapter as much as I want to- I don't really know why, but... Oh well, everyone has their lesser chapters, I suppose!  
**

 **I know the bath scene might be stretching things a little, but I HAD to add it- it's cute, plus I had the perfect (in a sad way) inspiration for it: my little cousin is staying with my family (his parents are going on a trip) for a week, and I was giving him a bath and he started crying- and not just little kid crying, but like full-blown sadness sobs. I asked what was wrong, and he looks at me with his big blue watery eyes and says, "The water's warm… like mommy's hugs…" And I swear I almost climbed into that tub in my rush to swoop him into a bear hug.**

 **Kids are so pitiful sometimes!**

 **The location through vibration thing probably isn't physically possible, at least not with his tiny body, but we're going to pretend it is :P Also, I can't remember if she's being kept underground in the Scout base or not, and I base all of this off of the anime (haven't read the manga) and no Google searches are telling me; so we're going to pretend that she's being kept with the Scouts for safety reasons.  
**

 **I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before, but I'm big into the 'whumping your favorite character' thing, and you can expect more Eren whumpage in future chapters.**

 **Anyways, that's that!**

 **Did you like it? I hope so! Thank you to everyone who's reviewed so far- it means a lot!**

 **Goodnight, Lovelies!**

 **-Violet**


	6. Chapter 6

Levi was practically sprinting through the castle in his haste to see what the sudden commotion was all about. Several of the newer recruits gave him odd looks and lots of room as he passed, some pausing to whisper to a friend about what they thought was making him act as such. He ignored all of them, head too full of worried thoughts and plans of action.

 _Has she broken out? What's she going to do? We'll need to evacuate._ But first he needed to see what exactly they were dealing with.

"Out of my way!" He snapped when an unsuspecting Christa wandered into his path. She squeaked and jumped backwards in surprise, bumping into an irritated Ymir. The taller girl glared at the blonde before sending a pissed look Levi's way as well- but he was already gone.

He cursed as he approached the door to the underground bunker in which they'd been keeping Annie. Dozens of Scouts were crowded around, all trying to peer down into the depths- presumably being blocked by many, many more people. He didn't have time for this.

" _Move!_ " He shouted as loudly as he could. Shorter than them though he might have been, his words had immediate effect. He was always known for being calm and quietly dangerous, often forgoing a raised voice in favor of scolding or ordering at normal volume with an ominous tone barely hidden under his calm facade- this made him scarier to the younger recruits and was a very useful tactic for controlling them through fear.

Because of this, they knew right away that if Captain Levi was _yelling_ , they not only needed to heed his words, but they needed to do so as fast as humanly possible.

A path was cleared within seconds and he continued, unhindered, to the lowest level beneath the base.

The room was lit by a few torches, casting threatening and warped shadows on the walls and people within, the brightness of the fire reflected on the surface of Annie Leonhart's crystal cocoon. He blinked slightly and let his eyes adjust before marching over to the one who had been in charge prior to his own arrival.

"Report." He commanded, turning to scowl at the girl encased in crystal. He noticed right away what had alarmed his men. The crystal was cracked and slightly hollowed out around Annie. She had moved forward quite a bit, one arm outstretched, still trapped in the diamond but closer to the edge of it. Her eyes were closed.

Aaron Lemn saluted in greeting before hurrying through the necessary information. "Corporal, approximately eleven minutes ago, Annie Leonhart opened her eyes and began clawing her way out. After approximately thirty seconds, her eyes closed and she stopped moving. She hasn't moved since." He informed succinctly. Levi nodded with a furrowed brow.

"Any ideas as to what caused it?" He asked over his shoulder, stepping closer to examine the rogue teen.

Aaron shook his head, legs visibly shaking from surprise and tension. "No, Sir. Nothing." Levi hummed in thought and returned his dark gaze to Annie.

"Maybe it was the scream." He muttered. The unearthly screech that had rattled the windows and caused all Scouts to cover their ears desperately had occurred about twelve minutes ago, and Leonhart moving mere minutes later was quite a coincidence.

A redhead cocked her head slightly. "Scream, Sir?" She asked in confusion.

Levi looked at her in disbelief. "You didn't hear it? It was very loud- loud enough that you should have heard it at least slightly, even this far underground."

Lemn shook his head. "We didn't hear anything, Corporal. What was the source?"

Levi turned back to Leonhart with a pensive expression. "Unknown. It sounded somewhat familiar, but the squad I sent to investigate has yet to bring back any information, so we can't draw any accurate conclusions yet."

"And you think Leonhart might have reacted to it?" The redhead ventured. Levi dipped his head.

"It's highly likely. The question is, why did she stop? She started moving after the scream had already long over with, so it's not like its absence is what stopped her." Aaron and a tiny blonde recruit shared a thoughtful look.

"Have you spoken to Section Commander Hange about it?" Aaron finally asked.

 _Damn, I knew I'd forgotten something_. "Not yet." Levi said smoothly, turning back to the door. At least they didn't have to evacuate. "I'll discuss it with her as soon as she's found. In the meantime, double the watch on Leonhart. Report any further developments immediately." He ordered. They saluted and he began ascending the stairs once more.

 _Where is that maniac, anyway?_ Levi thought in frustration. _Off experimenting on the little princess, I suppose… Wait._ He suddenly realized why that scream had sounded familiar- it was nearly identical to the roar that teenaged Eren's Titan form often emitted in battle. The pitch was slightly higher, and the emotion behind it was different, but he knew with strong confidence that that was what it was. He picked up his pace to a light jog. Now that the _who_ and _what_ had been answered, the most urgent question in his mind was now _why?_ What had happened to make the Titan child scream like that, when he'd never done something like that before? Worry gnawed at his gut like a filthy rodent. It was past sunset, so Eren should have already been asleep- and yet he had screamed in… well, it had sounded like fear.

He was so lost in thought that it took him several seconds to acknowledge that he was headed for Hange's room. It seemed his feet had minds of their own as they took him to where answers would hopefully be found.

Levi didn't immediately enter once he reached Hange's door, instead pausing a moment to listen for any signs of life inside. Hange's room was a pigsty and he would rather not go inside unless he was absolutely sure that it was necessary.

"Poor baby…" A female voice whispered. Sighing, Levi gathered his wits about him and pushed through the door.

"Hange?" He asked upon entry, forcibly keeping his eyes _away_ from the pile of dirty clothes and various other shit in the corner. His target was standing by the window, cradling a bundle of Titanlet to her chest and rocking it gently.

"Shh!" She scolded immediately, gesturing to the baby she held, who, upon closer inspection, proved to be sound asleep. "What is it?" She asked in a whisper.

Levi glared at the correction before getting back to business. "Leonhart moved." He said simply.

Hange's eyes blew disproportionately wide and she opened her mouth- most likely to yell in perverse excitement- before catching herself and clamping her jaw closed, face turning red with her efforts to hold in the outburst for Eren's sake. She breathed heavily through her nose for several seconds before deciding that she could trust herself to speak at appropriate volumes.

"Really?" She demanded. "How much? Is she out?" Eren whimpered and stretched his miniscule arms before clacking his teeth and letting out a content sigh, still asleep.

Nevertheless, Levi waited a few moments to ensure that the infant was, indeed, out cold before continuing. "Still in the damned crystal, but she moved closer to the outer edge of it."

Hange's face broke out in a grin as she absentmindedly rocked the Titan. "That's amazing! How long ago?"

"About a minute after that shrimp ruptured everyone's eardrums." Levi said pointedly, tilting his head in Eren's direction. "What the hell did you do to him?"

She didn't have the grace to look abashed. "Oh, we cut his hair," She explained, lifting the end of the ebony locks to show how significantly shorter it now was. "It was too thick for shears, so we used one of our blades- did the trick, but it scared the living daylights out of him. Poor baby." She lightly tapped the Titan's nose, eyes sympathetic.

Levi sighed and rolled his eyes. "You used one of our blades- the blades we use to cut through thick Titan flesh- to give the little freak a haircut?" Hange scowled at him.

"He's _not_ a freak! Stop being such a grumpy little jerk, Levi." She defended. Levi simmered before taking a breath and getting back to business.

" _Anyways_ , it's been agreed that you should take a look at the bitch and see what you can conclude. Our biggest question is why she suddenly started reacting to outside noises, followed by why she stopped after only a few seconds." He informed. He watched as thousands of theories flew through her mind and sighed again. He could already tell that she'd be ranting for hours. "Can you head down now? We need the information as soon as possible."

She nodded excitedly before pausing, face falling as she looked down at Jaeger. "Well… I just sent Armin and Mikasa to get ready for a market run, and all the other recruits are asleep now. I need to keep an eye on Eren." She said regretfully. "And bringing him down to the bunker could have a bad effect on his health- it's cold and there's no sunlight at all. I doubt even body heat would keep him stable."

Levi groaned. "Hange, call Ackerman and Arlert back up here and make _them_ watch him." He argued. Hange chewed her lip uncertainly.

"I would, but I _really_ need the supplies they're going to get- if they don't go tonight, I won't have access to the chemicals I need. If I don't have access to them, I can't start working on a counter for the reverse-aging tomorrow. That would mean it will take even longer for him to get back to normal. Of course, then there's the fact that the chances of the closest merchants having everything we need are iffy. If they don't have it, it'll take even _more_ time to track down someone who does. And if they go around the marketplace during the day, when it's busiest, asking around for rare chemicals and the like, that might make people suspicious and increases our chances of the higher-ups finding out about our… predicament. That means a lot more paperwork for all of us, and the possibility of Eren getting taken away. And this all hinges on those two getting to the marketplace _tonight_." She finally stopped to breathe, the conflict in her eyes even stronger.

Levi growled under his breath. She did have a point, as much as he hated to agree with her. "Well what would you propose we _do_ , then?" He asked in exasperation. It was too late for this shit- he should have been asleep in bed long before now. He could feel the fatigue beginning to wear at his thoughts as he found that he couldn't gather the energy to come up with a good argument. He hadn't slept in four days already, thanks to his good friends Anxiety and Insomnia, and now that he finally felt himself about to fall asleep, he was required to stay up and both do paperwork and deal with a minor crisis. And _now_ he had to come up with a plan of action that would be agreeable to Hange- not an easy task when she was in her momma bear mode. "You _need_ to get down there right away. I'm not risking the safety of my Scouts, so you need to get down there, take a look, and assess the threat level. We need to be sure that she won't wake up again and break out- at least not until we're adequately prepared to contain her."

Hange exhaled slowly and turned to gaze out the window, the moon reflecting on her glasses. "I don't know… Let me think for a minute." She said tiredly, rubbing an eye and then massaging her temple. And for the first time Levi saw how exhausted she was. He hadn't even considered how much sleep she must have lost over this unique case. By the bloodshot eyes and thick bags beneath them, he'd say she'd gotten a maximum of ten hours of sleep in the last week or more. Knowing Hange, she'd stayed up almost all night every night to run tests, write down theories, examine data and plan. He almost… well, he almost pitied the insane Titan enthusiast. _Almost_.

Before Levi could comprehend the fact that it was, indeed, speaking, his mouth said, of its own accord, "I'll keep an eye on Jaeger." He snapped his jaw shut moments later, horrified that he'd just _volunteered_ to little-shit-sit for her. He tried to play it off as a casual suggestion, making a subtle face implying that he really _didn't_ want to do it. But, of course, the damage had been done.

Hange perked up and turned to him gratefully. "Really? Thank you!" She exclaimed before wincing and quieting. The Titanlet she held groaned sleepily and nuzzled into her a little before stilling again. She let out a relieved breath and smiled. "I'll get down there right away!" Levi scowled. Dammit, he still had paperwork he needed to do before he'd be allowed to sleep, and now he'd just added an extra few hours of watching a sleeping Titan to his list of _Things Keeping Levi from Sleeping_.

Jaeger was in his arms before he could blink, much less protest, and he scrambled to correct his hold- how did one keep a limp baby from falling and cracking their heads open, again? His babysitting skills were a bit rusty- as in, hadn't been used even once.

"What the hell?" He exclaimed mutedly as the woman quickly adjusted his arms to the correct position. He leveled her with a glare before adjusting a bit more to be more comfortable. As much as he wished he could yell at her for dumping the little brat on him, he _had_ been the one to stupidly volunteer, and even in his angry, tired state, he knew that scolding Hange would be both unfair and just plain mean- too much so even for him. He let all of his frustration out with one large exhale before rocking the infant ever so slightly. By some miracle, the Titanlet was still sound asleep, if not a bit fidgety.

"Alright, since the sun's down now, he should sleep solidly through the night. The only reason he'd wake up before sunup would be either outside provocation or a bodily need for something. All you have to do is make sure he stays very warm and keep him safe. I should be back to get him in a few hours." Hange explained as she grabbed a large pack and went around the room, collecting various scientific shit and putting it inside.

After she was done packing her equipment, she returned to Levi's side and planted a light kiss on the little Titan's forehead. "Be good, little man." She whispered fondly before rushing out of the room, a new leap in her step as she excitedly went to study her second favorite subject.

And now Levi was alone with a tiny monster sleeping in his arms. What was he supposed to do with him? He needed to get some more paperwork done, he realized, and started making his way to his own room. He could watch Jaeger and do his work at the same time, he was sure.

Levi's room was fairly simplistic and very organized. It was spacious, with minimal furniture and no decorations to make it homey. He awkwardly transitioned the sleeping Titan so that he was lying on top of the meticulously made bed, trying not to cringe at how wrinkled and dirty Jaeger was sure to make it. He then took the Titanlet's blanket and rested it on top of him, tucking the edges in and making sure he was securely in place. Eren sneezed a little and burrowed further into the covers.

"Disgusting." The man muttered under his breath before yawning and heading back to the desk he'd abandoned nearly half an hour ago. His paperwork was exactly as it had been before, unfinished and mocking. Sighing, he gracelessly plopped into his chair and began the tedious task of sorting through the papers and signing only the ones that were approved for signing. Then he had to separate those out and sort through the leftovers all over again until each type of document was in its rightful pile, with the correct approval status. Then he'd have to stamp 'DENIED' on each of the unapproved requests, followed by stamping a symbol of official credibility on the signed documents. Then he'd have to put each document type into a separate folder, and _then_ he'd have to take the signed ones down the hall and put them in Erwin's box for the Commander to look over and give his own stamp of approval. Only then was Levi's work finished for the night.

An hour later, just as he'd mechanically signed off on a supply run, the Corporal heard a whimper. When he looked up to determine what the source of the noise was, his neck popped painfully and his spine ached. His eyes took several seconds to focus on the bed after spending so long staring at tiny printed words.

Jaeger was still whimpering quietly, little arms twitching gently and ears pressed against his skull.

Levi sighed and stood from his chair, exhaustion weighing his limbs down, and trudged over to the sleeping infant.

Eren's skin looked… off. It was bumpier and had just the slightest undertone of light purple. Alarmed, Levi took one of his arms and inspected it closely. It was covered in goosebumps, almost cold to the touch. Tiny tremors wracked the small body as the Titanlet attempted to wrap himself up in his blanket.

Levi took pity on the pathetic thing and looked around for an extra blanket, but he found none. But he _really_ didn't want a Titan under his own covers. The thought made his skin crawl. Instead he grabbed an extra shirt and laid it out flat on the bedspread. He unbuttoned the front. Then he gently unwrapped the Titanlet from his blanket and transferred him to lie on top of the shirt.

Eren's eyes opened halfway and emerald greens stared up at him questioningly, glazed with sleep. Levi put his arms into the sleeves and buttoned the shirt back up, wrapping the excess fabric around the infant several times. Then he wrapped him up in the blanket again.

Eren shivered once before relaxing and falling back asleep. Taking this as a good sign, Levi returned to his work.

It was almost two in the morning when Levi extinguished his candle and stumbled to his bed. He was _so tired_. He all but collapsed onto the soft mattress, worming his way under the blankets and getting comfortable as he felt sleep pull at him with an iron grip. His eyes fluttered closed and he gently slipped into the land of dreamless repose.

At some point during the night, the little shit- that he'd forgotten was sharing his bed with him, he was so tired- crawled right out of his little blanket cocoon, limited strength only getting him to Levi's side before he went limp and passed out again. His shivering shook the mattress enough to slightly wake Levi, who, mostly asleep and not thinking clearly, reached out and hooked a hand around the Titanlet's back, pulling him closer to lie against his chest. He put his own blanket over the both of them and smirked a little when Eren instantly curled into his body heat, not waking. Then he joined the Titan in deep, undisturbed sleep.

 **Honestly, I think I love Parental!Levi more than any pairing at all in this show. It's too sweet. :D**

 **Sorry for the long wait, Lovelies! After I got back from Christmas break, I had a hard time getting back into the swing of things at school, and my grades suffered for it. Not to mention that, with so few grades inputted for the semester so far, even the slightest bad grade on even one assignment can really drop your total grade in the class. So I've been juggling work, beta'ing, writing, babysitting, chores, church, and, most stressful of all, school and trying to get my grades up. Thank you for understanding :)**

 **Does the ending seem rushed? I'm tired and I do have a time limit and I wanted to get this done today, so... Well, I hope it's not too irritating.**

 **Yes, Levi is totally OOC at the end- but we're all different people when we're super tired. I think even Humanity's Strongest would get loopy with exhaustion after getting very little sleep for so long. Hange, too, actually. She's so tired that she can't maintain her hyperactivity as consistently.  
**

 **I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but better safe than sorry: I know I most likely am getting several people's ranks wrong. Levi is especially difficult: they call him 'Captain Levi' several times, but other times he's referred to as 'Corporal' and 'Corporal Levi'. I tried Googling it, but that really didn't help my terrible understanding of the Attack on Titan military ranking system. So either please ignore it or please explain it to me, because unless someone can lay it out plainly, I'll continue calling him both. Just know that my errors annoy me just as much as they annoy you, so please don't hesitate to call me out on them and how I can fix or improve them. Thank you!**

 **Also, another thing I need answered: is Annie encased in diamond? Once again, tried Googling it, but my school laptop blocked all the websites with answers :P**

 **And that's all I've got for ya, Lovelies! If you feel so inclined, please leave a review!**

 **Happy (early) Valentine's Day!**

 **-Violet**


	7. Chapter 7

Levi fell asleep in the wee hours of the morning. He'd only gotten about two hours of unbroken sleep for almost five days beforehand. When he finally gave in to exhausted repose, it was after he'd spent hours dutifully working until he'd simply been unable to function anymore. It was a miracle he'd lasted even that long.

That's what Levi told himself over and over again when his eyelids drowsily slid open almost four hours _after_ he should have been up and back to work. He immediately shot up and out of bed, cursing a blue streak under his breath. He had never been so late before!

The last dredges of sleep still played games with his blurry eyesight and his limbs seemed heavier and clumsier than usual. He glanced at the clock and then at the sun's position again- it was almost ten- and realized he'd been asleep for approximately seven hours- so much more than he'd thought, but still not nearly enough sleep to effectively combat the lethargy pulling at the corners of his mind.

He pulled on a boot and laced it as quickly as he could manage, already trying to figure out how he would talk his way out of this one. He could be demoted for this kind of irresponsible behavior! Calming down a bit, Levi reminded himself that he was Humanity's Strongest; he would be hard to replace, so he did have a form of job security.

He was out the door within two minutes of first waking up, stalking as quickly as his dignity would allow to Erwin's quarters, running his fingers through his hair to comb it hastily when no one was looking. When he was right outside of the door, he paused and double-checked his uniform, making sure it was immaculate as usual to allay any suspicions of his frantic preparations. Finding it to his satisfaction, he raised a fist and knocked.

"Come in, Levi," Erwin called. Levi scowled when he heard a slight chuckle in the man's voice. Drawing himself up, he slowly and deliberately entered, settling himself in his usual seat across from the Commander.

"Apologies for my tardiness." Levi said rather stiffly, if not cautiously- he'd never been in this sort of situation with Erwin before, so for once he had no idea what the response would be, and that unnerved him more than he would ever admit. He hated not being on top of the situation, and he hated being at someone's mercy- even to this degree.

Erwin paused and set his pen down on the desk, lacing his fingers and resting his chin upon them with a small smirk. "What kept you, Corporal?" He asked knowingly. The shorter man cursed silently when he saw the Commander's gaze was taking in what most likely were some impressive dark circles under his eyes. He frowned and fought down the urge to spit out some lie about assisting some of the recruits- Erwin could see right through his lies, especially ones he made up on the fly.

"I woke up late, Sir." He replied formally through his clenched teeth, suddenly finding it hard to maintain eye contact. He instead settled for staring at a patch of wall directly behind Erwin's head. "I was irresponsible."

Erwin's smirk softened and he let out a small laugh. "Calm down, Levi- you won't be punished." He reassured. "Honestly, I'm glad you got some extra sleep; it's obvious you haven't been getting enough lately."

Levi frowned but was internally sighing with relief; he relaxed his ramrod posture just a little and leaned back on the chair casually. "Since when did you become my mother, Erwin?" He retorted. The blonde man laughed again.

"Oh, please. You've been tired and irritable for days- more irritable than usual, anyway." He easily replied. Now that they had settled into the usual banter that Levi had come to associate with 'friendly', he found he could let his guard down once more.

"It's not my fault the Titan Freak hasn't been doing her share of the paper… work…" Levi froze, eyes widening slightly. "Fuck. I forgot the brat!" He exclaimed, standing. Saluting, he began to make his exit.

"Levi!" Erwin called, halting him. Levi raised a brow and turned to face his friend again. "Today's a slow day; take the rest of the day off." Levi furrowed his eyebrows and opened his mouth to argue, but snapped it shut when he realized that it was for the best. He nodded jerkily and was out the door without another word.

 _Line Break_

"Jaeger!" Levi called as he burst through the door to his own chambers. Everything seemed to be as he had left it, allowing him to release the breath he'd been holding. Nothing had been moved, taken, slobbered on or otherwise destroyed as far as he could tell.

He made his way to the bed, somewhat hoping that Hange had taken the Titanlet back at some point during the night. He pulled back the duvet, but no living creatures met his searching gaze. His stomach plummeted. That just meant she'd taken him, right? But what if-?

The doubts were enough to have him on his hands and knees, looking under the bed for some sign of the missing Titan infant. He found none. The rest of his room yielded similar results. Where could Jaeger have gone?

He went back out into the hallway and began methodically ducking into the unoccupied rooms of the senior Scouts currently either eating lunch or training- no luck. Soon the entire top floor of the castle had been searched, including an amused Erwin's office, and there was still no evidence that the miniscule Titan had been there. It was like he'd simply vanished into thin air.

As he reached the stairs to begin the search on the ground floor, he realized he'd forgotten to search Hange's chambers- seriously, this sleep-muddled thinking process needed to be corrected as soon as possible. Groaning, he went past the stairs and right into her room without knocking.

He found the woman in question fairly quickly when he rushed into her tiny personal laboratory- she was hunched over a table in the corner, three beakers and a magnifier by her head. When he came closer, he realized she was fast asleep, head resting on her arms. He groaned in exasperation and moved to grab her shoulder to wake her, but was stopped by a small voice in his head. _She's gotten even less sleep than I have, hasn't she?_ That single question was enough to have him grudgingly decide to let her be. He wasn't going to carry her to her bed to be more comfortable, though- that was a bit too _caring_ for his liking. Instead he settled for taking her jacket from the back of her chair and folding it, situating it between her face and her arms. Then he did a quick sweep of the room, found no Eren, and fled as fast as he could.

The ground floor was bustling with the mid-morning activity of the newer additions to the Scout Regiment. Teenagers flowed in and out of dozens of rooms throughout the large hallway, chatting animatedly with groups of friends and in various stages of dress. As Levi was leaving a particularly filthy bedchamber a few minutes later, he noticed a group of girls leaving the girls' showers and giggling amongst themselves. They paid him no mind as they passed, too caught up in their conversation.

"-so cute!"

"I know! It's kinda pervy, since he's a boy an' all, but he's too young to worry about, right?"

"He's just a baby- I'm sure he doesn't care about seeing anything." Another collective giggle and they were gone.

Oh dear God. Please no. Levi gulped in downright fear. Jaeger _wouldn't_. But he was the only male infant on the premises. Still, despite the strong evidence that the little shit had, in fact, done what Levi was terrified of, that little voice in the back of his head was begging everything that was holy that Jaeger had gone _anywhere_ but there.

As casually as he possibly could, Levi traipsed over to the door to the showers for the female recruits, waiting until the halls were relatively empty before leaning in ever so slightly and straining his ears.

"Tilt your head, buddy," a girl chirped above the running of several showerheads. "There you go!" Alright, that sounded suspicious. A teen boy suddenly exited the mess hall, so Levi quickly lunged to the side to put several feet between himself and the showers, leaning against the wall and acting as though it was his duty to keep an eye on any activity in the hallway, leveling the boy with a stern look. The teen paled under his scrutiny and hurried past him. Once the coast was clear, Levi sidled closer to the door again.

"Careful, you'll get soap in his eyes!" Another girl exclaimed. The first girl seemed to convey her response to this in a look, as there was no audible verbal reply.

"Isn't he _Eren_ under there? Why would you let him see you like that?" Shit. Shit shit shit shit shit. Fuck. Levi felt the compulsion to punch the wall and scream. Of _all_ of the places and times Jaeger could have chosen, it just _had_ to be the girls' showers during the morning hours, when they were busiest. Now what was he supposed to do?

"Eren's just a little fetus right now. And he's asleep." Girl One explained. Wait, if she knew that much… Ah, he'd thought that voice sounded familiar. Sasha Blouse. "And his Titan… mentality… is more animalistic and also just a baby, so him seeing anything has no effect on anything."

Holy. Fucking. Hell. Not only was Blouse letting a little Titan into the showers with her, but she was also _naked_? No, seriously, how the fuck was Levi supposed to get Jaeger now? He took a deep breath through his nose in an attempt to cool down. He could just wait for them to come out with him. There was a five-minute limit for showers, so it wouldn't be long. He could wait.

The smell of fresh bread wafted from the mess hall and made his stomach clench, reminding him that it had been over twelve hours since he'd last eaten anything. He began tapping his foot impatiently but stayed exactly where he was.

But soon it was past the five-minute mark and Jaeger was still in the shower room. Levi cursed some more and mentally prepared himself to knock on the door and demand that Blouse surrender the Titanlet, but thankfully came up with another idea before he could. He went into the mess hall and almost pounced on an unsuspecting Christa, who was just sliding her dirty dishes through the dish return slot.

"Lenz." Levi snapped quickly. She jumped and turned to him rather timidly.

"Yes, Captain Levi?" She asked.

"I have a job for you. Follow me." He ushered her out into the hallway, ignoring the befuddled looks they received as they exited the hall. "I need you to go in there," he gestured to the shower room, "and retrieve Jaeger from Blouse." Christa furrowed her brows but nodded.

"O-okay." Levi watched as she disappeared behind the wooden door. "Sasha? Captain Levi needs me to take Eren." He heard her muffled voice explaining.

"Oops, I forgot! Just lemme rinse his hair- did you know he loves showers?" Sasha replied conversationally.

"I didn't." Lenz said somewhat awkwardly. Thirty seconds later she emerged, steam billowing out behind her, with a small Titan wrapped in a towel cradled in her arms. He squeaked at the shock of cold air and burrowed further into the towel.

Levi lunged forward and snatched the infant from her, mumbling a 'thank you' and rushing back to the safety of his room. Jaeger chirruped happily and grasped his tunic with wet little fists, making Levi scowl. He all but kicked the door open and began pacing his quarters, not knowing what to do now.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" He scolded the bundle in his arms, who he suddenly noticed was dripping warm water all over. Sighing, he put Eren on the ground and removed his towel, running it over him to mop up the excess water. The Titanlet stayed obediently still and made a variety of happy noises at the touch. Levi then put the towel over his head, ignoring the indignant squawk, and began massaging it over his scalp to dry his hair. After a few seconds of this, he removed the cloth and threw it into a nearby bin for clothes to be cleaned.

He sighed once more in exasperation when he saw how tangled the child's hair now was. Jaeger didn't seem to mind it all that much, giving his ears a pleased wiggle, but Levi knew it would bother _him_ all day if it wasn't fixed. He went into his bathroom and searched for one of his old hairbrushes that he'd forgotten to throw out; he located it under a pile of folded towels and returned to his bed chambers- but Jaeger was gone.

"Fuck!" He exclaimed, running around the room, brush still clutched in his hand. "Jaeger!" Thankfully the little shit had just hidden under his bed, and let out something between a snort and a sigh that sounded suspiciously like a laugh when he was found. Levi was on his hands and knees, reaching for the Titanlet, but the squirt was against the wall, and his arms couldn't reach that far. "Get your ass over here!" He snapped, but Eren cooed and stayed put. "Don't make me get Hange in here, you little brat!" No response besides a twitch of the ear. Levi growled and gave up, moving to sit leaning against the side of the mattress, back to the Titan. "I officially hate you, I hope you're aware."

Maybe he could lure the little shit out? But with what? He was too stupid to fall for that. Or was it the other way around? It was hard to tell. No, okay, he was just under the bed, he wasn't in any danger, so it didn't matter how long he played hide-and-seek. While he waited for the Titan to inevitably crawl back out, he would work on some old paperwork he'd never had time to do before. And once he'd been caught, Levi would take him to Arlert or Ackerman and have _them_ watch him. Because Levi's patience was wearing _so_ thin right now. He got to his feet with a groan and went to his desk, trying to get comfortable in the chair and settling in for the monotonous task.

 _Riiiiip_. What the hell was that? Levi lifted his head, hair falling in his eyes, but the noise didn't continue. He went back to work.

 _Riiiiiiiiiiip!_ What? What was that sound?

 _Riiiiiip. Riiiiip. Riiiiiiiiiip._ Oh no. "Fucking _Jaeger!"_ He launched from the chair and scrambled on hands and knees to look under the bed. The Titanlet was sitting, hunched over, big green eyes looking up at him innocently. Clasped in both fists were shreds of paper- taken from the pile of folders neatly stacked on the floor at the foot of his bed, surely. "Give me that!" He yelled, trying desperately to fit under the bed to reach the baby. Jaeger's cheeks were pulled into the corners of a smile and he held up an untouched piece of parchment, as if asking, _'_ What _, this?'._ Then he looked Levi right in the eye, put both hands in the middle of the paper, and ripped it in half. "You little-!" One thing was for certain: Levi's language was the farthest thing from 'child appropriate'. But he didn't care. "Stop, _now_!" Eren laughed again and threw a wadded up piece of paper at his face.

Levi's blood was boiling and rage built up inside of him, but before he could start making grabs for the little Titan's nape, he forced himself to back away and calm down. _He's trying to get this response. Be the mature one. Don't kill him._ Then he had an idea. He knelt down again. "Eren." He addressed, internally applauding at the calmness in his voice. The boy paused what he was doing and looked at him curiously, tilting his head in question. "Want to go outside?" He made sure to clearly gesture to the door, then to the window, outside of which birds were singing. The tiny creature's ears perked up and he squealed excitedly, worming his way out until he was on his feet in front of his caretaker. Levi resisted the urge to throttle him now that he was out in the open, instead focusing only on staying true to his word. And looking for some strong rope.

 _Line Break_

"Are Armin and Mikasa back yet?" Sasha asked Jean as they swept the stables. Jean shook his head, running a hand through his hair and examining their work so far.

"Nope, and we just got word that they're going to be gone for another day at least- the merchants are being hardasses, I guess." He shrugged and resumed sweeping. Sasha frowned.

"What will we do with Eren while they're gone? I haven't seen Section Commander Hange all morning, and Captain Levi sure seems pissed." As she said this, she leaned back to peer out the open door and watched the Corporal walking leisurely through the yard, a skipping Eren immediately in front of him. A thick rope had been tied around the Titanlet's torso in a similar style to their 3DMG harnesses, and the other end was in Levi's hand. "He's literally walking Eren on a leash."

Jean snorted and absentmindedly stroked one of the horses, pausing once more to lean tiredly on a support column. "Not a bad idea, actually." He commented. Sasha half-glared at him before perking up.

"I wonder if Eren would like to go hunting with me later! He could be my retriever!" She said, mouth practically watering at the prospect of extra food.

"'Doubt Levi would let you."

"Oh, please. I'm sure he'd be glad to have him out of his hair. Hey, did you hear about what happened this morning?"

Jean shook his head.

"Okay, so, I was showering between breakfast-"

"'Between'?"

"- and suddenly Ymir comes in, and before the door closes Eren slips right in and runs over and grabs my leg! It was kinda embarrassing at first, but then I remembered that Eren wouldn't understand enough of anything to really care about what he saw, and then he really liked the warm water, so I gave him a shower too."

Jean was gaping at her, then his face crumpled into exasperation. "Seriously? It was that easy? After all the crap he gave us about bathing yesterday? He soaked my pants!" Sasha laughed.

"I guess he doesn't like being submerged."

"Okay, but why wash him again after we bathed him last night?"

"He'd been in the same room as you, Jean. We needed to cleanse him of your germs."

Jean opened his mouth to retort but it seemed to die in his throat as he furrowed his eyebrows and leaned further to the side to look out the door. "Where'd they go?" He asked, eyes searching the entire yard on that side of the barn.

Sasha, confused, joined him, looking as far to each side as the structure allowed her to see. There was no sign of Captain Levi or his pet Titan. "I'm sure they just went inside." She rationalized. Then she froze when a distinctive, " _Jaeger, STOP!"_ came from behind them. Turning around and running to the door at the opposite end of the stables, she didn't have far to look.

" _JAEGER!_ " Captain Levi screamed as he was dragged on his belly across the yard, both hands clutching the rope connecting him to the sprinting Titanlet for dear life. They were going at least thirty miles per hour. Without meaning to, Sasha doubled over and laughed so hard that she started crying.

"Eren, go easy on him!" She called, laughing all over again, Jean on the ground, doing the same thing in the fetal position. The Titan, upon hearing her, immediately changed course and shot right at her, dragging his poor caretaker through a pile of not-the-cleanest hay before slowing enough to leap into her arms. "Hey, you!" She tickled his chin lovingly and giggled when he chirped happily.

"Jaeger!" Captain Levi suddenly snapped, absolutely fizzling with rage as he stood and dusted himself off. He stormed over and grabbed the little Titan from her, marching back up to the castle without another word.

 _Line Break_

"What the fuck is wrong with you?" Levi asked rhetorically of the Titan tucked under his arm. Dammit, his shirt was officially ruined- covered in grass stains and horse shit. He was _not_ happy.

Jaeger burped and started playing with the man's pocket innocently. Levi scowled and continued marching to the castle, fully intending to dump the little brat on Arlert and Ackerman. He should have just left him with Blouse… except that she wasn't exactly the most responsible recruit and he was pretty sure that would end in a disaster. "Do anything like that again and I'll whip your skinny ass." He warned. Once they were inside the large structure he tracked down one of the recruits. "Where are Ackerman and Arlert?" He demanded, not caring that his tone was clearly frightening the teenager.

"Oh, um, they just sent word back that they're going to be gone a-another day." She stuttered.

"Fuck!" Levi all but screamed as he stormed off to his room once again. His stomach growled in protest as he went in the opposite direction of the kitchens- and Jaeger's ears twitched quite curiously at the noise- but he ignored it. What had he done to deserve this? What had once been his most determined recruit was now his most determined annoyance.

Once they were back in his chambers he dropped Eren onto the floor and shut the door. How could he keep the little shit from causing any more trouble? Then he decided that he would just let the Titanlet do whatever he wanted- after he'd put all of his important things, such as that stack of files, out of the little freak's reach, of course. He settled back into his chair and watched as Jaeger tilted his head at him, clearly confused.

"Go on, entertain yourself." He prompted with a wave of his hand. The Titan chirruped and went back under the bed in a single dive-and-slide, leaving Levi to stare for a moment in surprise. That was… unexpected. Then he shook his head and pulled out a document that needed revising- day off or not, he wasn't going to be unproductive.

…

He shimmied further under the bed, ribs rubbing uncomfortably against the hard ground as he did so. He missed Mother and Sun- he even missed Loud. He wasn't quite sad about it yet, but he sure felt their absence. For instance, he had nothing to do to keep the boredom away. The only thing he'd thought of was to hide from the sunlight's rays to make himself tired enough for a nap. But now that he was down here, he didn't _want_ to sleep. He wanted to run and jump and play with the angry one- he was fun! But the angry one had made it clear that he was to do something on his own right now.

His eyes adjusted to the lower lighting until he could see everything in the shadows in detail. And something immediately caught his interest.

He crawled over and grabbed it, examining it thoroughly- it was short and half of it was shiny- the other half was a hard material. The whole thing smelled of metal, soap, and a tiny bit of blood. It didn't smell like his blood, though. It came from something else.

Curiosity piqued, he grabbed the shiny part and began hitting the ground with the opposite end, pleased when it made a loud _thunk_. He did it again.

"Yayger!" The angry one suddenly snapped, making him jump and stop what he was doing. Clearly the angry one had found annoyance in his noisemaking. He felt the need to crawl back out and show his caretaker what he had found- maybe then he'd let him continue investigating it. He gripped the shiny part harder in his fist and started forward on his knees and knuckles- only to stop short and yelp. The shiny part had dug into the thinner, more delicate flesh of his palm. Frightened, he opened his fist and began backtracking; this only proved to be worse as the movement put more weight on the punctured hand and pressed the offending object further into his skin. He frantically scooted backwards on his behind, head squashed against the fabric above him, and pulled the thing from his hand. It landed with a _clang_ and his blood splattered on the ground around it.

Whining, he held his hand to his chest and crawled awkwardly until he was out from under the bed, where he jumped up and ran to the only one around who could make it better.

…

Was that… _steam_ coming from under his mattress? Levi narrowed his eyes. That seemed suspicious. He began to rise from his chair when he heard a pitiful whimper from the other side of his desk, but before he could get anywhere, a small body slammed into his gut and forced him back into the chair. "What the hell, Jaeger?" He exclaimed, slightly winded. The Titanlet shivered and whined and situated himself on Levi's lap, then held up one little hand. "Fuck! What happened?" Levi's stomach twisted at the sight of the bone-deep laceration across the little palm. He'd seen worse injuries- most of which on dead soldiers- and he'd stayed stoic, but seeing such damage translated onto a creature barely the size of a toddler- and almost half the age of one- was somewhat rattling.

The little Titan sniffled and pointed to his bed. From that angle he could just barely catch a glimpse of his old dagger laying underneath- it was covered in blood. He cursed again and was about to run the infant to the infirmary when he remembered- this was a _Titan_. His wound would heal- had already been healing for a while, hence his steaming mattress. He forced himself to relax and stay calm. "Sucks, doesn't it?" He asked.

He could tell exactly when the change in his tone of voice registered with the little child sitting on his lap; his ears twitched, his brows furrowed and he stopped whimpering to fix Levi with a questioning look. That seemed promising enough; at least he'd stopped crying about it without Levi having to coddle him.

"It's fine- you'll heal. See?" He gestured to the wound, which was now basically gone. Eren stared at his palm for a second before looking back up at Levi with those painfully familiar emerald eyes. Then he hesitantly reached out his other hand and gently grabbed the man's finger, pulling his arm closer, a question in his big eyes. It was clear what he wanted. Levi sighed; he'd treated Jaeger like crap so far, and he was just a confused little kid. He was a pain in the ass, yes, but he was still innocent.

He was also very intelligent; Levi could tell that without Hange informing him of it. Jaeger had learned from the last time he'd been hurt that simply latching onto the Corporal's arm could cause unnecessary panic, and was now being much more cautious about it.

Rolling his eyes halfheartedly, the man took his arm out of Jaeger's grasp, rolled up his sleeve and then extended his arm again. The Titanlet wasted no time in wrapping his tongue around the limb and suckling, Levi trying his hardest not to cringe at the sensation. He could feel as the moisture was pulled from his skin. He'd need to get some lotion afterwards.

By the time Jaeger was finished feeding, Levi's stomach was rumbling much louder. He needed to eat. He watched as the tiny giant detached and curled up contentedly, eyes fluttering closed. And Levi just knew somehow that Jaeger was done being hyper for the day, so he felt more comfortable with taking him along to the kitchens. He stood and cradled the sleeping infant in the crook of his arm, making sure he was secure before beginning the journey to the first floor.

 _Line Break_

After the sun had dipped below the horizon and a light chill had settled in the air, Levi hadn't bothered to keep thinking that Hange would return to take Eren back. But he was unexpectedly at peace with this fact. He was reclined in his chair, staring languidly out the window with a limp Titan lying belly-down on his torso, tiny head tucked under Levi's chin. One of the man's hands had grown a mind of its own and was methodically running softly through the child's lengthy hair. Jaeger let out a pleased hum in his sleep. Everything was good and calm.

So it was a slight surprise when the messy-haired woman stumbled into his room at about ten o'clock without so much as a knock to announce her entry.

"Hey, Levi, sorry I-" She cut off when she saw them, a giant smile pulling at her mouth. "Aww! I just _knew_ you were a big softie under that hardass exterior! No one can resist the cuteness of a baby Titan!" She all but squealed, thankfully keeping her voice down. Levi frowned at her and was about to spit out a scathing response, but she kept talking. "No, don't deny it! Just listen to my report and keep snuggling that baby." Alright, now she had his attention.

"What did you find?"

She plopped into the seat opposite him and adjusted her glasses. "Well, so far all I can tell is that she was definitely responding to an outside stimulus- most likely Eren." She began. "However, it appears her temporary consciousness was just that- temporary. She hasn't shown any response to anything and remains asleep. Her crystal showed no signs of having softened at all, and still could not be cracked by any of our blades."

"So she isn't a threat, then? At least not an immediate one?" He asked.

Hange gave him an apologetic look and extended her arms. "Can I hold him for a second? I need some baby snuggles." She requested. Sighing, Levi carefully slipped his hands under the sleeping Titan and lifted, transferring him into Hange's waiting arms. He couldn't help but notice how the cold air assaulted him once the tiny body was gone. Hange easily pulled Eren to her chest and held him close, sighing happily and placing a kiss on the crown of his head. "I missed you, little man." She murmured. Then she turned back to Levi. "That's where I'll need some more data. I wasn't able to run as many tests as I would have liked last night because I almost fell asleep on my feet, so the others sent me to bed." She pulled a face. "Now that I'm rested, I was hoping I could spend another night running some tests. But that would mean you'll have to watch Eren again."

Now it was Levi's turn to pull a face.

"Oh, it would just be overnight this time, I swear!" Hange hurriedly added. "I was asleep basically all day today, so I completely forgot to come and get him from you- since I've gotten sufficient rest, I'll be able to come for him early tomorrow morning. Mikasa and Armin will be back by noon tomorrow as well, so he'll be well out of your hair by the time you need to get to training."

Levi pondered this for a moment. If he didn't have to endure the terrors of Eren when he was awake and hyper, he didn't really mind keeping the squirt with him. A sleeping Titanlet was a peaceful one, at least. Slowly, he nodded.

"Thank you! I'll have to get going, then, so I can find some helpers with suitable voices." Hange said, reluctantly handing the child back to Levi and gathering her things. At Levi's look, she chuckled. "Oh, right- I'm testing to see if the volume of his scream was what awakened her response, or if it was his voice itself, so I'm going to have someone scream from various places around the castle and see how she responds."

Great. That's just what he needed- a screaming idiot all over the place. "Just be sure they don't come near here- if Jaeger wakes up and gets into trouble, I'm holding you responsible." He warned. Hange laughed again and nodded.

"Copy that, Captain!" She mock saluted. Then, with one more longing glance at Eren, she was out the door.

With a long-suffering sigh, Levi returned his gaze to the window, his hand resuming its stroking through Eren's hair.

 _Line Break_

He awoke with a start when a piercing cry cut through his pleasant unconsciousness, shooting up into a sitting position. What was that? A scream? It sounded distressed! He gazed over at the angry one, who was asleep, and felt hesitance. He wasn't supposed to leave a heat source at night. It was imperative that he stayed warm. But his reservations wavered when another scream sounded, this one seeming to come from somewhere below him. Something must be wrong!

He pushed the giant arm off of his lap with a shiver, reluctance slowing his motions. It was so cold outside of the angry one's embrace and blankets! But he was driven with the need to determine what had caused the multiple cries for help, so he scooted to the edge of the bed and carefully slid off, landing in an ungraceful heap on the hard ground. He whined in pain before forcing his sleep-clumsy limbs to move.

Once he was shakily on his feet, he stumbled to the door- but it was closed and he didn't have the strength to force it open. Blackness began to eat at the edges of his vision, making him whimper again, and he ran across the room to stand in a patch of moonlight, earlier mission abandoned. He'd been so stupid to leave his heat source when the sun wasn't out! He should have known better!

The light brought a slight tingling sensation to his core that he recognized as his body trying to make its own form of energy with the little it could get. But it did nothing to combat the lethargy sweeping over him in a huge wave.

 _Not enough not enough not enough_ ran through is head on a loop as he realized that whatever energy the moon's rays could give him would never be enough to allow him to remain conscious for more than possibly another few seconds. He could feel it as his limbs began to shake from the strain of holding him up- first gently, then violently. The strength was draining from him at a dramatic rate. He fell to his knees. Tried to get back up again. Failed. He needed to get to warmth before his body completely gave out! He crawled as fast as he could until he was at the bed- and then something else hit him. It was too high. He was too weak to jump. His legs gave out beneath him, as did his arms, and he used the last of his energy just to roll over onto his side. The cold ground bit at his naked skin; the chilly air seemed to seep into his pores.

He could feel as his own weakness brought an increase in the presence of his other self- the one that was incompetent in this body, the one that was nowhere near independent. Something in his nape began wiggling slightly. He quashed that consciousness down, pushed it back into its peaceful sleep until the wiggling died down and the other self slipped into repose. Ever since that first time that consciousness had taken control of his own body away from him, he had made sure to put it to sleep every time it began to wake. He groaned when his head began to throb. He needed warmth, he needed energy, he needed sleep. But he had no way of reaching it.

Wait…his caretaker! He could help!

Gathering all the fumes he had left in his entire body, he let out a cry. It hurt his throat and increased the throbbing in his head, and he flinched, but let out one more cry. But it went unheard- the angry one was fast asleep.

Whimpering, he curled in on himself as the blackness finally overtook him.

 **Oh no! What'll happen now? The suspeeeeense!**

 **Seriously though, this chapter is kind of all over the place- I had it nicely planned out, but every single time I sat down to write it, I could never focus on it 100%. Was it okay? Was Levi too OOC? Also, am I whumping Eren too much? Like, to the point where it's annoying? Feedback is love!**

 **Did you notice my language filter completely vanished? That's for a few reasons. One, since it's mostly Levi's POV, I figured he be f-bombing all the time since he's kind of a grumpy guy. Two, this is me venting; I'm not allowed to use bad words in my house, what with having three younger siblings, so I decided to take advantage of this opportunity. I don't know when I suddenly got comfortable typing it out- as you can see from earlier stories/chapters, I avoid the f-word like the plague- but all of a sudden I just don't care. It's funny, actually- I'm a born and raised Lutheran, and so I'm much more comfortable writing 'fuck' than any sort of exclamation using 'God'. Like, I can guarantee that you will never see 'Oh my G-O-D' (literally have to spell it out to be somewhat comfortable with it) in my writing. 'Good Lord', maybe. I guess it's just my upbringing :P Anywho, enough about my weirdness.**

 **Also, for this story, pretend that showers with heated water exist- I dunno if they do or not in the AOT universe, but no amount of research would tell me. They've got 3DMG, right? Surely someone could come up with showers.**

 **Anyways, sorry if this chapter is all over the place- I tried my hardest to make it good!**

 **Have a good evening, Lovelies!**

 **-Violet**


	8. Chapter 8

**Man, it's been awhile, eh? Finally got my own laptop, after months of saving, and I finally got my ass back in gear, so voila! New chapter! I hope ya'll enjoy!**

 **Warning: some disturbing imagery ahead.**

Armin stretched his sore arms, letting out a pleased sigh as the tenseness was released from his muscles. A sideways glance showed Mikasa doing the same, both of them sharing eager looks as they neared the base of the Scout Regiment. It had been maybe two- three?- days (Armin had lost count after day one, what with the repetitive and depleting task of asking merchant after merchant if they had _blank_ chemical or _blank_ tool, only to be redirected to the merchant's good friend who would supposedly have all varieties of what they sought, but was revealed, after another several hours of traveling just to find them, to not have even a close similarity to what they needed, and the cycle would begin all over with _this_ merchant recommending his good buddy's assistance- a good buddy that unfortunately lived clear across town), and they were very excited to reunite with their childhood friend, about whom they had worried constantly during their absence.

Isaiah, one of the Scouts to accompany them, hopped out of the wagon and opened the heavy gate marking the beginning of Scout territory, waving them through before deftly jumping back on.

"I'd say we'll be there in about six minutes." Armin estimated, shielding his eyes from the early morning sunlight to get a better look at the sprawling distance between them and the old castle. Mikasa grabbed the reins.

"Let's make it two." She said stoically, flicking the ropes and clicking her tongue behind her teeth, making the horses whinny and increase their speed exponentially. Armin clapped a hand on his jacket, which had been sitting on the seat beside him and was threatening to go flying in the sudden wind, and Isaiah and Mara let out surprised exclamations, nearly falling out of the back of the wagon and almost stepping on the bag of their newly-bought supplies in their efforts to stay upright and on-board.

"A little warning would be nice!" Mara snapped, gripping the side of the wagon for support. Mikasa rolled her eyes in annoyance and pushed the horses to go even faster, nearly making the wagon flip over when one of the wheels caught a small pothole in the dirt path. "Shit!" At the other girl's exclamation, Mikasa let a devilish smile pull gently at the corner of her mouth, something only Armin could see. Then again, it could have been his eyes playing tricks on him- the harsh wind was making them incredibly watery and dry simultaneously.

With Mikasa keeping them going at breakneck speeds, they reached the stables in a dizzying one-point-seven minutes, which the girl recorded carefully and memorized proudly. Isaiah and Mara quickly leaped from the cargo hold and staggered over to put the horses back in their stalls, shooting the younger pair dirty looks as they went. Armin blushed a little at their discontent and felt the urge to apologize for Mikasa's behavior- it wouldn't be the first time, after all, and it certainly wouldn't be the last- but said girl was steadfastly ignoring them, the bag of supplies under one arm as she looped the other through Armin's and steered him toward the castle- and, more importantly, Eren.

"I wonder if she's changed him back yet," Mikasa commented hopefully. Armin sighed and shook his head.

"The odds of that happening without the supplies we're bringing are very slim." He informed her, to which she nodded sadly, if not with determination.

"True, but now it should only be a few days, right?" He shrugged, not knowing the answer himself and not wanting to get her hopes up.

They made a beeline for Hange's room, where they found her almost immediately, hunched over a notebook and scribbling furiously. She didn't so much as twitch in response to their footsteps and continued to scribble, as if on a continuous, unchanging loop for all eternity. Armin cleared his throat.

"We're back, Section Commander." He said uncertainly, arm- still intertwined with Mikasa's- tensing around the girl's upper arm.

"What did I tell you about calling me that?" Hange replied without looking up, startling the teens.

Mikasa took a step closer and held out the bag. "Well, Hange, we got everything you asked for- we got your letter yesterday, by the way, but we couldn't get any carbamide. The merchant _did_ sell us these fresh tadpoles mid-metamorphosis; apparently they secrete carbamide. He also said that these-" she pulled a four-inch gray fish, still slimy and cold despite hours spent in a sack exposed to full sunlight, "have it in them as well. I guess carbamide is a common ingredient in skin care products, like lotions, for fertilizers and for earwax removal aids." That merchant in particular had really stuck out to the two, as he had been almost as big a chemistry buff as Hange herself. He'd droned on for almost half an hour on the possible uses of carbamide, or urea, in everyday life, where it could be found, how it could be synthesized with sophisticated equipment, and the like. The Shiganshina Trio, as many called Armin, Mikasa and Eren, had been informally educated mostly by their parents and their friends' parents, so this advanced-level chemistry lesson had been a bit overwhelming.

"Ah, thank you, my dears!" Hange crowed, finally looking up from her work and accepting the bag and fish, examining both closely. "Yes, this will work nicely." She stared deeply into the fish's glassy eyes, which, after ten seconds, really started to unnerve Armin while Mikasa just raised a brow questioningly.

"Um… Hange?" The woman snapped out of her reverie with a bright smile that certainly didn't hide the dark bags under her eyes.

"Yes? Sorry, I zoned out for a second."

Mikasa sighed. "What's the carbamide for?" She asked directly, crossing her arms impatiently. She was greatly anticipating their reunion with little Eren, so she clearly didn't appreciate any sort of setback or any conversation about anything unimportant.

"I'm glad you asked, my perceptive apprentice!" Hange said eagerly, straightening her posture for what was surely a long-winded lecture. "Carbamide, also known as urea or CH4N2O, is a colorless, odorless solid excreted in sweat. Very soluble in water and not dangerous if it's ingested in small amounts with lots of water. In humans, it carries waste nitrogen, helps allow reabsorption of water and critical ions from excreted urine, prevents loss of water, maintains blood pressure and maintains a suitable concentration of sodium ions in the blood plasma." She stated matter-of-factly, Armin holding in a groan. Seeing the teens' faces, Hange chuckled. "But enough about the technicalities. I think that carbamide is what Eren eats." Armin's eyes widened.

"What makes you say that?" Mikasa inquired curiously.

"Well, most prominently, when Eren suckles on Levi's arm, he leaves it dry and dehydrated. He not only takes the hydration from the skin, he takes the chemical excreted in sweat to possibly help his body keep the liquids inside. Or maybe there's another element to it that somehow provides nutritional benefits to growing Titans. All we know is that sweat is the only thing he's shown a hunger-slash-interest for, and he's gotta be getting his nourishment from somewhere. Otherwise how would he grow and develop?" They nodded silently.

Armin eyed the floppy fish Hange still held and was passing from hand to hand. "So… you want Eren to suck on the fish?" That was one sentence he had never thought he'd say.

Hange nodded. "Pretty much! Oh, I totally forgot! It's nearly time for Levi to wake up!" Surprised, Armin noted that it was somehow only six in the morning. It felt so much later than that! The section commander stood and stretched. "Alright, let's go get Eren. I just hope he let Levi get a good night's sleep." She said, chipper as usual. She led the way down the hall and shoved Captain Levi's door open with knocking. "Hello? Sleeping Beauty?" She asked in a half-whisper as she snuck into the room, Armin and Mikasa hanging back in the doorway, safely hidden by the thick door, left cracked open. "I'm here to pick up- _gah!_ " At her startled exclamation, the teens burst into the room, not letting their instinctual fear of Levi's wrath stop them from entering.

Hange was crouched on the stone floor by a prone little body that was unnervingly colored in blues and purples, unmoving. She was cupping his grotesque little face in her hands, using her thumbs to peel back black eyelids, ring fingers searching out a pulse under his jaw.

"Eren!" Mikasa breathed, lurching forward and skidding to her knees beside Hange, Armin following and placing his hands on the little Titan's exposed torso while Mikasa frantically searched his limp wrist for a pulse as well. His skin was bumpy with gooseflesh and cold to the touch. His muscles were starting to stiffen slightly. He looked and felt like a corpse. "I can't find a pulse!"

"I can." Hange stated, voice that of a serious leader taking control of the situation. She was all business now. "Quick, wrap him in a blanket!" Mikasa grabbed a blanket off of the bed- and a sleeping Levi- and swiftly bundled the small creature in it, eliciting a surprised grunt from Levi in doing so.

"What're you brats doing in my room?" He asked, suddenly wide awake. His hair was sticking out in all directions and his eyes were still glazed with recently abandoned sleep. He caught a glimpse of Eren and narrowed his eyes. "What happened?"

Hange all but growled at him. "What happened, my dear Levi, is you somehow managed to get a _Titan_ sick! Look at him! He's all but frozen solid, his pupils are constricted, he's unresponsive… What did you _do_?"

"I didn't _do_ anything!" Levi defended, crouching beside them and staring at the limp infant. "And why is he down here?"

"C'mon, little man, open your eyes." Hange prodded the Titanlet, ignoring Levi for the moment. Eren, amazingly, obeyed, eyelids fluttering open slightly and a small squeak escaping his mouth. "Ah, there we go! Stay with us, baby boy," Eren simply shivered and curled into the blanket further, movements weak and stiff. "C'mon, let's get him outside."

Leaving Levi behind to get dressed, the two teens and Hange all but sprinted outside, into the orange early sunlight. Eren pinched his eyes shut at the brightness of it.

"You're alright, Eren." Mikasa encouraged, though she didn't know who she was trying console- mostly herself, probably. Just when they'd finally gotten their hopes up that maybe, just maybe things could start being fixed and soon things could be normal again, poor Eren was victim to yet another vicious blow from apparently Fate herself. He just seemed to be a magnet for trouble, always being the one, out of the three of them, most likely to take a blow or to need to be carried home when his own attempts to move were hindered by injury, pain, exhaustion or a mixture of all three. No matter how many times he'd been hurt in the past, though, Mikasa knew she would never, ever get used to seeing her beloved brother in such a condition- she felt as though she was taking part in his pain, weighed down by the guilt of another of her failures to protect him. This time, thankfully, there was someone else she could blame, someone she could be angry with- it felt so much better than being the transgressor, of being the one receiving her own hate, and she was thankful in an upside-down, twisted sort of way.  
They skidded to a stop in that familiar little spot in the gardens, making sure to angle Eren so that he was completely engulfed in the healing rays of the sun. His (apparently) naturally emaciated form made him look like a specter of a disfigured baby, with his ribs sticking out so sharply that Mikasa swore she could cut herself on them; this unfortunate trait, coupled with his stiff, disconcerted movements and his very, very pale skin, made him look like something a pair of grieving young parents had buried and that had come back to haunt the living. Thankfully, the exposure to the natural heat source seemed to be doing the child good, as he was slightly more alert and his ears were twitching and fidgeting as they hadn't been before. Hopefully he'd lose the appearance of death warmed over soon enough.

Hange checked his vitals again and sighed slightly, a bit of tension leaving her whipcord muscles. "I think he's stabilizing." She said with tangible relief. "I just hope that didn't cause any long-term damage." Mikasa's heart pounded just a little harder at the possibility- _If he's now damaged because of Levi's actions,_ she thought, _I'm killing that Corporal myself!_

Armin seemed to have caught on Hange's words in a similar fashion, as he voiced both of their concern: "What are the chances that there _is_ damage?" His blue eyes were wide. Even though the boy was a genuine prodigy, moments like these were harsh reminders that he was still just a kid, who could easily be blinded by his emotions when caught so off-guard.

The scientist studied Eren thoughtfully for a few moments before formulating an answer, eyes never leaving the Titanlet. "Considering the state we found him in, I'd guess he'd been laying on the floor for at least five hours- given how long that is to go without warmth for someone so dependent on it, the odds of possible damage are unnervingly high. We need to watch him and note any changes in behavior once he's up and about again." She said. Eren coughed, then made a strangled croaking noise. "Based on the rate at which he's reviving, I'd say that'd be in about six to ten hours, if we're lucky." The teens simply nodded, both relieved that Eren was getting better but dismayed that it would take so long. _He's just a baby_ , Armin reminded himself, _so of course his healing takes much longer than it used to. He's not fully developed._

So of course that was when things took a turn for the absolute worst. Hange was the first to notice something horribly off, and her reaction was what drew the teens' attention to Eren after several minutes of quietly watching the wind pulling at the trees, pondering their situation. "Eren? _Eren_! No, no no no no…" She quickly dropped- yes, _dropped-_ him onto the grass, unfolding the blanket around his little body so it was flat beneath him. Armin's stomach dropped when he saw that the tiny ribcage was no longer expanding and contracting with breath. Hange and Mikasa were hunched over the Titanlet, quickly getting to work- Hange checking his eyes ( _when had they closed?)_ and Mikasa pressing an ear to his chest.

"His heart stopped!" She cried after several tense seconds of waiting, jerking her head away from his flesh as though she'd been burned. Armin's eyes widened and he immediately went to her side, beginning chest compressions without a second thought.

"Come on, Eren, please don't do this!" He muttered desperately between thrusts, pushing as hard as he dared- no matter how powerful the Titan was, he still felt delicate to the touch.

Hange made a distressed sound. "He needs rescue breaths to get his lungs working, but only about half of the air we give him would get to his lungs- the rest would escape between his teeth!" Of all the forms for Eren to need CPR in, of course it had to be the lipless one.

Armin's eyesight soon became blurred with tears as he kept pushing, pausing, searching for a pulse, finding none, pushing again. _I'm fighting for you as hard as I can, Eren._ He let out a sob as a rib gave way under his hands. _Please don't let that be in vain. You're my best friend. If you die…_ Eren had been one of his only friends for almost his whole life. He was the only one, before Mikasa joined the mix, that thought Armin was worth defending. Eren was his protector from the moment Armin's intellect was suddenly a barrier between himself and the rest of their peers. He genuinely enjoyed the time he spent with Armin, despite their night-and-day differences. _It's my turn, Eren. Let me save you._

And suddenly Mikasa's shaking hands were slowly prying his away from the battered form of what was left of their friend. Armin numbly allowed it, only because, even if he were in the deepest form of denial, he could very clearly see that Eren was now past revival. His skin was shriveling and turning gray, disintegrating around his hands and feet. Hell, even his teeth were rotting and evaporating. Like he was just any other Titan. Clenching his fists, Armin let out another sob, unable to fully comprehend that Eren was dead. That he'd been showing small signs of improval and then… just slipped away. And their efforts at resuscitation had done nothing at all. They had failed.

"H-h-he's…" Hange stuttered, pale, her wide eyes watery. She quickly swiped an arm over her eyes and adopted a determined look. "No, he can still be-" Instead of speaking, she flipped the evaporating corpse onto its belly, bits of charred-looking flesh falling to the ground like snowflakes after being shaken loose by the movement, and examined its nape. The hair covering the back of the little Titan's head quickly turned to ashes, the skin of the nape following suit. "See? See? It's- it's turning black! That's different from the gray everywhere else!" She pointed out, sounding almost hysterical. Armin couldn't see any difference between that patch of shriveled flesh and the rest of his body. He stared at the small body as it rapidly got smaller, bones crumbling and skin completely evaporating.

Still, instead of accepting the loss _(but could Armin really judge that? He would never accept.. He was just in shock.)_ , Hange took a scalpel from a small leather pouch on her belt and quickly cut open what remained of the nape, a mirror of an act of rescue they'd performed so many times in the past. Mikasa, who looked even closer to screaming in despair than Armin felt, brought a trembling hand to her mouth when the blade sliced a clean gash into the skin's remnants, revealing a small pocket of… red? Confused and unsure of whether to be alarmed or hopeful, Armin leaned over to see inside and felt his heart skip a beat at the sight of a small blob surrounded by dying flesh, seemingly unaffected by its surrounding decay. It was pale yellow, shaped vaguely like a small child curled up, with a tiny black bead on what seemed to be the head. An embryo. A human embryo. _Eren_. The embryo was attached to several steaming ligaments that were quickly evaporating.

"God, he's still alive!" Hange cried when the embryo very visibly twitched in a way that could only be deliberate movement. She carefully stuck her hand in the incision and cupped little Eren in her palm, then looked up at the teens. "I'm going to cut him free." Before they could even think to argue, she took her scalpel in her other hand and sliced the baby free of his attachments to the dead Titan body. She then pulled him out and stared in awe at the tiny life in her palm- he was so small, with little buds for limbs and little dots for eyes. Then she snapped out of it. "We need to somehow keep him alive!" She exclaimed, realizing just what was happening now. He was too small for the typical life support, too underdeveloped, and his only life support system that _had_ worked was now dead. She could feel the panic roiling in her gut- they'd just gotten him back _again_ , just to lose him once more- permanently. She had no idea how to keep this little embryo alive for another few minutes, let alone until he was to term and able to at least _breathe_ on hist own!

"How would we do that?" Mikasa demanded, face completely devoid of color. Poor girl was having a hard time processing all that had happened in the span of fifteen minutes- honestly, Hange had no idea how her own brain was still functional right now.

She sucked in a breath, dropping the scalpel and cupping that precious, precious life in her palms like he was the most valuable treasure in the world. She had to _think_ , dammit! Come up with a sol- she shrieked when a bright flash exploded right in front of her, around her hands. She slammed her eyes shut against the blinding light and almost recoiled when she felt something warm and sticky, backed by a network of hard pillars of support, encircle her hands- well, her entire left palm and half of her right. The strange substance constantly pushed against the backs of her hands and her palms, as though trying and failing to go through them.

"What the hell was that?" Mikasa asked after, seconds later, the light died down and they gradually uncovered and opened their eyes. Hange's answer was a scream as she gaped at her hands, where little Eren had been. A small Titan body had formed around the little embryo, healthy and strong as the former had been before its decline in health and subsequent untimely demise. Except that the neck had formed _around_ her hands, bleeding freely onto her where the skin had been unable to meet skin and seal. The Titanlet made a series of choking noises and she screamed again.

"Mikasa, cut him out! Cut him out!" She cried in a frenzy, wanting to yank her hands free but afraid of injuring the little embryo still cupped in her palms. She had to turn her head away from the horrific sight. She continued making repulsed and, dammit, fearful noises, not hearing any verbal confirmation from the girl but knowing she was doing as told- the girl was dependable like that. Hange sighed in relief when the Titanlet body began shriveling around her hands and evaporating away, leaving the embryo resting in her hands again as soon as he was cut free once again. Without a second's hesitation, Hange placed him on the ground gently and scooted back a little, Armin and Mikasa doing the same.

Mikasa, stony-faced, eyes locked on the embryo, said, "If Eren is permanently damaged because of any of this, I _will_ kill Levi." Her green eyes were like steel.

Still slightly out of breath and heart hammering, Hange nodded. "Consider me your partner in crime."

Another bright flash.

 ***Shamelessly adds mini carbamide lecture to chapter so the research doesn't seem so pointless* Sorry if that part bored you! I gathered WAY too much info, but I wanted my legit research to be somewhat shown in the chapter! -** **Just let me have my shallow gratification!**

 **I'm not sure if I'm pleased with this chapter…. I had typed out the set-up for one ending (just Eren being sick and taking forever to heal, but eventually getting better), but then I got an idea I liked better, where his Titan form died and they had to cut him out and they saw that he was, in fact, just a little embryo in there, and I basically tacked it on there as best as I could. I dunno… is it annoying how much I'm whumping on Eren? I've got a buttload of reasons as to why I am, but if it's annoying, then the reasons don't quite justify it, do they? And did Armin and Mikasa seem a little too… I dunno, like they weren't responding with enough grief when Eren 'died'? I tried to channel the response without going on a long description of feelings that would be there only temporarily, but I feel like it made them seem unfeeling, almost. Please let me know what your impression of this chapter was- this chapter I especially, genuinely want to know, because I'm just jumping back into the saddle here and I'm not sure… Constructive criticism is always very much appreciated!**

 **I know that a lot of this is total nonsense in terms of the science behind any of this, but it's a fantasy series (amongst other, more horrific things) and I'm fantasy AUing it, so bear with me. I'm trying to stay as true to my original imaginings as possible to satisfy my muse and the fantastical things she comes up with :P**

 **You know when you get a fanfic idea that you really,** _ **really**_ **like, but it involves, like, a triple AU-ing of the source material and it seems too wild and unreal for the readers to possibly enjoy? Yeah, that's me on a regular basis, it seems like. And when you know you have to change the idea slightly or some of the details about it, but it doesn't feel like you're honoring the amazingness you'd originally dreamed up? I hate that feeling.**

 **Anywho, please lemme know what you think needs to be changed or if you really liked it as is! I'm dying to know!**

 **Now, because I'm paranoid: I'm sure the carbomide thing doesn't make a lick of actual scientific sense, but I'm sticking with him basically eating it. As a baby Titan (which in and of itself, even in AOT, is nonexistant in the first place), I imagine he'd need a source of energy and nourishment to help him shoot up to his fantastic adult size- after that, the sun is all they need, since they're done growing and don't need to eat to survive. So there's my little explanation. Please don't hate on my fake science :P**

 **Also, yes, little embryos are capable of actual movement, it just depends on how developed they are. They can move pretty early on, the earliest at about five to six weeks old, but they're so small and their movements are so tiny that apparently pregnant mothers don't even notice until later in the pregnancy.**

 **Anywho, to those of you who soldiered through my long-ass AN, thanks for your time!**

 **And a shout-out to Red Coaster, who's helped encourage me to get my butt into gear. It's because of her you're getting this update now instead of a long time from now- I was super nervous about it, to be honest!**

 **Have a great night, Lovelies!**

 **-Violet**


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